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burtfromohio · 4 years ago

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This is a bunch of OC stuff

Big long post, will take energy to get through. Enjoy.

Nessalyn Aradath

Born to Joselyn Aradath and a father who is not in the picture. After Joselyn had Nessalyn, she moved from her home (in an underwater city I’m sure exists) to Elmville in Solace to have a better life with her daughter and to decrease the chances of seeing her slimy ex.

Nessalyn (Ness) grew up in a very suburban non exciting environment. Her mom let her go to Aguefort because she thought adventuring would let out any pent up energy and curb any teenage rebellion. In school, Ness completed her freshman year as a fighter who wields a trident then multiclassed wizard with ice spells as her go to (because of the aesthetic). Also because of aesthetic I think she fuses her focus into her trident so she can cast from it. After graduation, Ness wanted to continue adventuring through college and go into a career that includes adventure; however, her mom convinced her to “choose a sustainable career choice”. Ness went to a four year university and became an accountant after college. She felt fine with it mostly, but after getting out of a very bland relationship, she knew she had to reevaluate her life.

While cleaning and redecorating her living space, she finds her old trident and decides to screw what anyone says and start adventuring again. She’s kept up her health and endurance so she thinks she can go back into it but she’s really rusty with magic and combat stuff (see rust condition in the players handbook I’m not writing lol). She takes all her money and puts a lot of it in a bag of holding to hide it and goes out into the ocean to, at 26, start life over and become a pirate because what else do you do as a semi aquatic with pent up aggression.

She makes her pirate living by taking jobs from non water breathers on Leviathan to dive for treasure. She of course skims a little treasure to keep for herself in her bag of holding that no one knows she has as she keeps many bags on her belt, delivers the treasure after which she is paid her cut.

She does find her way to The Gold Gardens and meets Garthy (bc that’s why I made her in the first place) and after some fanfiction worthy stuff and time they become really good close friends. I like to think Garthy confides in her as much as she confides in them.

Side notes:

Ness gets her name from my usual screen name plus Triton naming conventions

I use my regular voice (standard american accent) for her just a bit more mature and optimistic sounding i guess

This is me if i could be a cool pirate almost mermaid and friends with everyone at the Gold Gardens especially Garthy

Urchin

Born to an neglectful orc mother she doesn’t really remember and a shitty triton father she remembers only slightly with great hatred. When she was very young, her mother gave her to her deadbeat father to take care of which he did for like a month then dropped her off where he thought was the most civilized place in the middle of the ocean that was close and convenient. He was wrong and left the young child to fend for herself on Leviathan. He kind of just dropped her on the lowest, closest stoop from the ocean which ended up being The Bilge.

She hid in the dark until she was brave enough to head out where more people were to find help. She was treated incredibly poorly. In fact, when asked what her name is, her answer is “the only thing anyone has called me is ‘a filthy street urchin’. Makes sense,”. She did catch a glimpse of fighting especially from the Row and the Ruction and learned that the only way to survive was to be able to fight and hide and steal. She slept in only the darkest parts of Leviathan and sometimes had to hideaway in the ocean. She stole two gorgeous scimitar (gold hilt, black blade)from a ship with no detection. She classifies as a fighter and rogue.

She stalks in the shadows and has at least a little info on everyone in Leviathan. Her dream is to sink the whole place down but with powerful people like Ayda and Garthy calling Leviathan home, she wouldn’t dare act on her desire.

Urchin did once try to reach out to Garthy but upon seeing the gorgeous people who wandered about in The Gold Gardens, she assumed they would turn their noses up at her like most people did and assumed that about Garthy as well because those people were the type of company they keep.

She has gathered info to try to track her mother and father down and confront them by stealing various documents and records from all over Leviathan and any significant ships. She doesn’t find her mother that way but she did find her father or at least his name.

Side notes:

Urchin has a real name read below

I use a kind of british accent for her voice (think Karliah Skyrim) with a little more idk cockney in there

This is just a really good idea i had and not me at all

~~~~~

The two now women do eventually have a chance encounter while Nessalyn hides in the Bilge from some people she screwed over. Urchin wants absolutely nothing to do with anyone and she knows base information about Ness (not her whole name tho), the optimistic new pirate wannabe who captured the heart of Garthy and everyone at The Gold Gardens. Ness is surprised at this and Urchin is surprised that Ness gives her the time of day since no one has ever spoken to her at length. When Ness asks her name she uses the quote above. Ness then vows to become Urchin’s friend because why not. Urchin hates this but maybe deep down likes it because she’s never had a friend and craves the affection she never had. After much persisting from Ness and repeat visits to talk, Urchin opens up about her shit family and how she has found some key info on her father and his whereabouts. Turns out his name is Syrus Aradath and he is held up in some sleezy underwater city that I’m sure exists. Ness is taken aback because that’s her last name (also to Urchins surprise since full names aren’t important unless they belong to powerful people)but doesnt know much about her father’s side of the family. All she knows is the one thing her mom had mentioned when she was worked up. Something about having to leave her two timing dirtbag husband who cheated on her when he was supposedly on a business trip but really he went to visit an orc. Then the final piece comes together with that memory and Ness is elated that she figured out that they are in fact half sisters with Ness being a little older though Urchin does not know her exact date of birth (Ness offers to share her birthday bc she’s cute like that). Urchin isn’t excited but in time warms up to the idea. They do forge a sisterly bond. Urchin finally meets Garthy and feels bad that she assumed they were going to be like mean or something. The two embark on a journey to confront their shit father and they do and tell him off and its cathartic and whatnot in the way that their father lives a deserved shitty life in an undersea hovel with many people mad at him for one reason or another. He truthfully claims he has no other children and Urchin gets the info on her mom, Valra Head Smasher, and goes off to confront her by herself for closure purposes. She does find her and sees that she leans more on the side of traditional orc (tough and mean). Her mom tells her that she was very small and weak when she was born and didn’t deserve a name that was fully orcish so she named her something kind of orcish but leaning more towards her weakling father’s heritage or something. Her real name is Korhal Aradath. Valra commends Urchin’s bravery of tracking her down and confronting her.

thats what ive got :p

#my ocs #long post #this qualifies as fanfiction huh #pirates of leviathan #fantasy high #dimension 20

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mittensmorgul · 5 years ago

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They are filming ep15 right now (Cas and Jack are working alone on a case) and the fact that Misha will miss one more ep due to his contract makes me think they dropped the empty deal arc. I just cant see them playing it out when they have to set up Jack to be the God killer, Cas to fix heaven, Amara plotline in 4 eps. Plus Dabb implied that Michael!Adam would also come back to defeat God in some form. Thoughts?

hmmm...

*does math in my head* *admits this is dangerous*

So we know that Misha is scheduled to be in 15 episodes this season, leaving five he will not appear in. So far, he has not been in 15.04, 05, and 10. Of the remaining unaired episodes (including the ones he’s already filmed, but haven’t aired yet), that leaves two more that he won’t be in.

And yeah, I really don’t think there’s time to explore the full weight of that deal, especially given that the entire cosmic situation has shifted since he made it. I mean, even the fundamental REASON Cas made it was so Jack would not end up in the Empty. And then Jack... ended up... in the Empty... Kind of a dick move for the Shadow to still try and cash in on that deal, right?

I just think it’s more a factor of them having committed to end the series at the end of s15 that led to the reframing of the deal, you know? If they had intended to go on for a s16, I think it would’ve been heavily dealt with in s15, or even in the back half of s14, but instead things needed to happen to accelerate dusting AU!Michael off the table to make room from Chuck to get all uppity with the story. :’D

They could bring it up as a potential way for Dean and Cas to deal with the rest of their communication issues. Like Cas could tell Dean about the deal, and Dean react to it with a Normal Amount of upset, because it IS reasonable to be upset to learn your best friend literally sold his own happiness in exchange for what he thought would make you happy, you know? Worst Gift of the Magi AU ever. All Dean wants is for Cas to be happy, but he’s willing to trade “enjoying that in a peaceful, not world ending life” and stand by Cas’s side through all their battles to make that happen. All Cas wants is for Dean to be happy, and he’s literally willing to sacrifice his own happiness and life to make that happen.

I think this was at least partly delved into in 15.09, with the very real threat of Cas having taken on a Mark like the MoC, which would eventually drive Dean to a point where he would’ve had to lock Cas in a ma’lak box forever, effectively losing Cas forever. It wasn’t the Empty deal, but the Empty would’ve never been able to collect, because Cas would’ve never been happy after that, you know? But again, I personally think that deal went out the window the moment Jack burned up his own soul to kill AU!Michael. Because I don’t think the Empty ever really wanted Cas... I think the entity was biding its time until everything was ready to bring ALL of Jack to the Empty, as we saw in 14.20... There was a bigger game afoot, and we don’t entirely know what that is yet.

Is Billie’s plan really to kill Chuck? Or is she, like Death always has, pushing at the Winchesters (yes, including Jack and Cas) to do something specific with no intention of them actually DOING the thing, but knowing that Cosmic Level Nudge will set into motion an entirely different sequence of events? Because Death... can’t act directly. Billie has come closest to just saying it outright, in 12.06, and this was before she ascended to that Bigger Picture View of Creation:

Mary: How would it work?Sam: Mom?Mary: You just kill me again?Billie: Reapers don't kill people. Rules.

So many rules... and Billie is so, so good at working around those rules. Even better than OG Death was. 6.11 is still a prime example of how Death functions.

DEATH So, if you could go back, would you simply kill the little girl? No fuss, no stomping your feet?DEAN Knowing what I know now, yeah.DEATH I'm surprised to hear that. Surprised and glad.DEAN Yeah, well, don't get excited. I would have saved the nurse, okay? That's it.DEATH I think it's a little more than that. Today, you got a hard look behind the curtain. Wrecking the natural order's not quite such fun when you have to mop up the mess, is it? This is hard for you, Dean. You throw away your life because you've come to assume that it'll bounce right back into your lap. But the human soul is not a rubber ball. It's vulnerable, impermanent, but stronger than you know. And more valuable than you can imagine. So... I think you've learned something today.DEAN Want to know what I think? I think you knew that I wouldn't last a day.DEATH I have no idea what you're talking about.DEAN I lost. Fine. But at least have the balls to admit that it was rigged from the jump.DEATH Most people speak to me with more respect.DEAN I didn't mean --DEATH We're done here. It's been lovely. But now I'm going to go to hell to get your brother's soul.DEAN Why would you do that for me?DEATH I wouldn't do it for you. You and your brother keep coming back. You're an affront to the balance of the universe, and you cause disruption on a global scale.DEAN I apologize for that.DEATH But you have use. Right now, you're digging at something. The intrepid Detective. I want you to keep digging, Dean.DEAN So you're just gonna be cryptic, or...DEATH It's about the souls. You'll understand when you need to.

Just like Billie’s command to Dean about the Ma’Lak box in 14.10:

Billie: And just look at you now. Do you remember visiting my reading room? The shelves and shelves of notebooks describing the ways you might die?Dean: Yeah. Upbeat classics.Billie: Well, it's the funniest thing, but they've all been rewritten. They all end the same way now -- with the archangel Michael escaping your mind and using you as his vessel to burn down this world.Dean: All of them?Billie: All of them. Except one.

Except... ALL of those books... were wrong... even that one that said the ma’lak box solution was the thing... And I think Billie was HOPING to get that EXACT reaction from Dean We’ll Find Another Way Winchester. But if she hadn’t TOLD him about that one anomalous book of fate, Dean wouldn’t have known to even TRY. And in doing so, in attempting to build that box, his loved ones realized something was super fishy (lol I didn’t intend to make an undersea pun, but there you go) with Dean, and stepped up to support him until out of nowhere, a wildly unexpected solution presented itself. BECAUSE Dean drew strength to keep Michael contained beyond the original prophesied ends... Because Billie “interfered.”

I don’t think Death actually KNOWS what will happen after she shakes up reality, you know? She just knows where to apply pressure in order to force a rewrite of destiny. This was also the entire point of 13.19-- the things you CAN change, versus the things you can’t. And how to give just the right nudge to set those changes in motion.

Well, that went off on a tangent... >.>

Point is, I don’t know for sure that Jack will end up as a God Killer (I mean even in a practical sense, the ONE THING the CW has ever said was that they were not allowed to kill God... I assume that hasn’t changed and am basing my own personal expectations accordingly...). So I’m thinking that whatever the final plan will look like... we haven’t seen it yet. Okay, now back to the point... Cas’s Deal with the Empty.

So regardless of the why (because I try to avoid using a doylist rationale like Misha’s contract or the remaining number of episodes in order to justify narrative choices, because no matter how you slice it, that’s Bad Science right there...), I don’t really see the Empty deal as a threat to Cas anymore. Unless Cas is destined for a tragic end and will be sucked into the empty in the series finale-- which, again, would mean that DEAN would also never be able to be happy, because it’s been explicitly established in text that Dean can’t be happy without Cas, and again, I don’t think the series CAN have a tragic ending, so it’s so unlikely I’m not even bothering to consider it. Except... Cas might not know that because of everything else, his own happiness won’t spell his doom, you know? Which leaves some interesting possibilities on the table for really cool CHARACTER stuff instead. Cas’s fear of finishing that conversation with Dean that Dean’s Purgatory prayer began, for example... because heck that’s treading really dangerously close to words that could make Cas happy... And could be holding him back from continuing that dialogue now, at least for a few more episodes of tension between them.

They may just bring it up again as a WTF Cas? How could you not tell me? moment, just to demonstrate that Cas and Dean truly HAVE resolved their interpersonal conflicts, by having Jack confirm that the deal is null and void because of his arrangement working with Billie and the Shadow now. Or even Cas himself already knowing the deal has been nullified when it’s mentioned in conversation, allowing them to finally have a conversation about what would make them happy, using Cas’s continued existence as a prime factor in Dean’s happiness, and Dean wanting him to stay to be a prime factor in Castiel’s happiness... I think this could be a really interesting way to use the fact that the deal had existed at all could spark that revelation, you know?

But again, all of this is just theory at this point. I could be 100% wrong about all of this. But as you said, with only 9 episodes left (and two of them theoretically not even including Cas... and heck they could do a speed run through the Empty for one of those episodes too... I have no idea what they have planned), I don’t think it’s going to be a long, drawn-out ordeal, you know? They’ve refocused all of the character arcs back into the main story now, and they’re all converging on what will eventually be the series finale, not flinging them all out in opposite directions to generate drama and angst, you know? Different point in the story, different options available to wrap up open threads.

#spn s15 speculation #spn 15.11 #castiel winchester #Anonymous

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adalheidismimisbrunnr · 5 years ago

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A Guide to Norse Gods and Goddesses

Aesir

The collective name for the principal race of Norse gods; they who lived in Asgard, and with the All-Father Odin, ruled the lives of mortal men, the other was the Vanir.

The Aesir gods under the leadership of Odin, included:

Balder (god of beauty)

Bragi (god of eloquence)

Forseti (god of mediation)

Freyr (god of fertility, who originally was from the Vanir)

Heimdall (guardian of the bridge)

Hod (the blind god)

Loki (the trickster of the gods)

Njord (the sea god, and another ex-Vanir)

Thor (god of thunder)

Tyr (god of war)

Vili (brother to Odin)

Ve (brother to Odin)

Vidar (Odin’s son)

The goddesses included:

Freya (the fertility goddess)

Frigga (Odin’s wife)

Sif (Thor’s wife)

Idun (keeper of the apples of youth)

Vanir

In Norse mythology, the Vanir are originally a group of wild nature and fertility gods and goddesses, the sworn enemies of the warrior gods of the Aesir. They were the bringers of health, youth, fertility, luck and wealth, and masters of magic. The Vanir live in Vanaheim. The Aesir and the Vanir had been at war for a long time when they decided to make peace. To ensure this peace they traded hostages: the Vanir sent their most renowned gods, the wealthy Njord and his children Freya and Freyr. In exchange the Aesir sent Honir, a big, handsome man who they claimed was suited to rule. He was accompanied by Mimir, the wisest man of the Aesir and in return the Vanir sent their wisest man Kvasir. Honir however, was not as smart as the Aesir claimed he was and it Mimir who gave him advice. The Vanir grew suspicious of the answers Honir gave when Mimir was not around. Eventually they figured out that they had been cheated and they cut Mimir’s head off and sent it back to the Aesir. Fortunately, this betrayal did not lead to another war and all the gods of the Vanir were subsequently integrated with the Aesir. There is not much known about the Vanir of the time before the assimilation.

Valkyries

Valkyries, in Scandinavian mythology, are the warrior maidens who attended Odin, ruler of the gods. The Valkyries rode through the air in brilliant armor, directed battles, distributed death lots among the warriors, and conducted the souls of slain heroes to Valhalla, the great hall of Odin. Their leader was Brunhilde.

Brunhilde

Brunhilde (Brynhildr, Brunhilda, Brunhilde, Brünhild) was a female warrior, one of the Valkyries, and in some versions the daughter of the principal god Odin. She defies Odin and is punished by imprisonment within a ring of fire until a brave hero falls in love and rescues her. Siegfied (Sigurðr, Sigurd) breaks the spell, falls in love with her and gives her the ring, Andvarinaut. Siegfied is tricked and accused of infidelity. Eventually Brunhilde kills herself when she learns that Sigurd had betrayed her with another woman (Gudrun), not knowing he had been bewitched into doing so by Grimhild.

Gullveig

Gullveig (“gold branch”) is the sorceress and seer who had a great love and lust for gold. She talked of nothing else when she visited the Aesir. They listened with loathing and eventually thought the world would be better off without her so they hurled her into the fire. She was burned to death but stepped from the flames unscathed. Three times she was burned, and three times she was reborn. When the Vanir learned about how the Aesir had treated Gullveig they became incensed with anger. They swore vengeance and began to prepare for war. The Aesir heard about this and moved against the Vanir. This was the first war in the world. For a long time, the battle raged to and fro, with neither side gaining much ground. Eventually the gods became weary of war and began to talk of peace. Both sides swore to live side by side in peace. Gullveig is also known under the name of Heid (“gleaming one”). She is probably the goddess Freya, who also has a great love of gold in the various myths.

The Norse Gods & Goddesses

Aegir

Aegir is the god of the sea in Norse mythology. He was both worshipped and feared by sailors, for they believed that Aegir would occasionally appear on the surface to take ships, men and cargo alike, with him to his hall at the bottom of the ocean. Sacrifices were made to appease him, particularly prisoners before setting sail. His wife is the sea goddess Ran with whom he has nine daughters (the billow maidens), who wore white robes and veils. His two faithful servants are Eldir and Fimafeng. The latter was killed by the treacherous god Loki during a banquet the gods held at Aegir’s undersea hall near the island of Hler (or Hlesey). Aegir was known for the lavish entertainment he gave to the other gods.

Baldr

Balder, son of Odin and Frigga, the god of Love and Light, is sacrificed at Midsummer by the dart of the mistletoe and is reborn at Jul (Yule). Supposedly his return will not occur until after the onslaught of the Ragnarok, which I see as a cleansing and enlightenment more than wanton, purposeless destruction. Balder’s blind brother Hodur was his slayer, whose hand was guided by the crafty Loki. He is married to the goddess of Joy, Nanna. Balder’s dreams are the beginning of the end. He dreams of his own death and shows Loki the truly evil god that he is which shows the ultimate limitations and mortality of the gods. The gods capture and punish Loki, but they cannot rescue Balder from Hel and the beautiful, passive god who embodies the qualities of mercy and love is lost to them. This is the beginning of the end, the first step towards Ragnarok begins.

There is nothing but good to be told of him. He is the best of them, and everyone sings his praises. He is so fair of face and bright that a splendor radiates from him, and there is a flower so white that it is likened to Balder’s brow; it is the whitest of all flowers. From that you can tell how beautiful his body is, and how bright his hair. He is the wisest of gods, and the sweetest-spoken, and the most merciful, but it is a characteristic of his that once he has pronounced a judgement it can never be altered. – Snorri Sturluson

Bragi

The god of eloquence and poetry, and the patron of skalds (poets) in Norse mythology. He is regarded as a son of Odin and Frigga. Runes were carved on his tongue and he inspired poetry in humans by letting them drink from the mead of poetry. Bragi is married to Idun, the goddess of eternal youth. Oaths were sworn over the Bragarfull (“Cup of Bragi”), and drinks were taken from it in honor of a dead king. Before a king ascended the throne, he drank from such a cup.

Note: Originally, Bragi did not belong the pantheon of gods. He was a poet from the 9th century, Bragi Boddason. Poets from later centuries made him a god.

Forseti

Forseti in Norse mythology, Forseti is the god of justice. He is the son of the god Balder and his mother is Nanna. He rules in the beautiful palace Glitnir with its pillars of red gold and its roof with inlaid silver, which serves as a court of justice and where all legal disputes are settled. See Myth 12 The Lay of Grimnir. Although Forseti is one of the twelve leading gods, he is not featured significantly in any of the surviving myths. He can be compared with the Teutonic god Forseti, who was worshipped on Helgoland a small Island in the North Sea.

Freya

Freya was one of the most sensual and passionate goddesses in Norse mythology. She was associated with much of the same qualities as Frigg: love, fertility and beauty. She was the sister of Freyr. Freyja (modern forms of the name include Freya, Freja, Freyia, Frøya, and Freia) is the goddess of Love and Beauty but is also a warrior goddess and one of great wisdom and magick. She and her twin brother Freyr are of a different “race” of gods known as the Vanir. Many of the tribes venerated her higher than the Aesir, calling her “the Frowe” or “The Lady.” She is known as Queen of the Valkyries, choosers of those slain in battle to bear them to Valhalla (the Norse heaven). She, therefore, is a psychopomp like Odhinn and it is said that she gets the “first pick” of the battle slain. She wears the sacred necklace Brisingamen, which she paid for by spending the night with the dwarves who wrought it from the bowels of the earth. The cat is her sacred symbol. There seems to be some confusion between herself and Frigga, Odin’s wife, as they share similar functions; but Frigga seems to be strictly of the Aesir, while Freyja is of the Vanir race. The day Friday (Frejyasdaeg) was named for her (some claim it was for Frigga).

Freyr

Freyr was the god of fertility and one of the most respected gods for the Vanir clan. Freyr was a symbol of prosperity and pleasant weather conditions. He was frequently portrayed with a large phallus. Freyr is Freyja’s twin brother. He is the horned God of fertility and has some similarities to the Celtic Cernunnos or Herne, although he is NOT the same being. He is known as King of the Alfs (elves). Both the Swedish and the English are said to be descendants of his. The Boar is his sacred symbol, which is both associated with war and with fertility. His golden boar, “Gullenbursti”, is supposed to represent the daybreak. He is also considered to be the God of Success, and is wedded to Gerda, the Jotun, for whom he had to yield up his mighty sword. At Ragnarok, he is said to fight with the horn of an elk (much more suited to his nature rather than a sword.)

Frigg

Odin’s wife, Frigg, was a paragon of beauty, love, fertility and fate. She was the mighty queen of Asgard, a venerable Norse goddess, who was gifted with the power of divination, and yet, was surrounded by an air of secrecy. She was the only goddess allowed to sit next to her husband. Frigg was a very protective mother, so she took an oath from the elements, beasts, weapons and poisons, that they would not injure her brilliant and loving son, Baldr. Her trust was betrayed by Loki, a most deceitful god. She spins the sacred Distaff of life, and is said to know the future, although she will not speak of it. Some believe that Friday was named for her instead of Freya, and there is considerable confusion as to “who does what” among the two. The Norns (Urd, Verdande, and Skuld), are the Norse equivalent of the Greek Fates. It is they who determine the oorlogs (destinies) of the Gods and of Man, and who maintain the World Tree, Yggdrasil.

Gefion

Gefion (“giver”) is an old-Scandinavian vegetation and fertility goddess, especially connected with the plough. She was considered the patron of virgins and the bringer of good luck and prosperity. Every girl who dies a virgin will become Her servant. She is married to King Skjold or Scyld a son of Odin, and lived in Leire, Denmark, where she had a sanctuary. The Swedish kings are supposed to be her descendants. It is traditionally claimed that Gefion created the island of Zealand (“Sjaelland” in Danish) by ploughing the soil out of the central Swedish region with the help of her sons (four Swedish oxen), creating the great Swedish lakes in the process. In Copenhagen, Denmark, there is a large fountain showing Her in the process of ploughing. Gefion could be another form of Frigga who is also known under that name.

Heimdall

Heimdall, known as the ‘shiniest’ of all gods due to him having the ‘whitest skin’, was a son of Odin who sat atop the Bifrost (the rainbow bridge that connects Asgard, the world of the Æsir tribe of gods, with Midgard, the world of humanity) and remained forever on alert; guarding Asgard against attack.

In the Lay of Thrym, it is Heimdall’s idea to Dress up Thor as a woman, in order to trick Thrym, the king of the frost giants, into thinking it was Freyja. The ploy works and Thor recovers his stolen hammer Mjollnir. Heimdall was associated with the sea and was the son of nine maidens (9 waves??). In Myth 5 – The Song of Rig he calls himself Rig and travels across the land visiting several households, speaking honeyed words, winning over the woman of the household and creating the three races of men. His acute senses make him an ideal watchman for the gods. His hall is Himinbjorg (Cliffs of Heaven) which stands near the rainbow Bifrost. He owns the horn Gjall which can be heard throughout the nine worlds.

He needs less sleep than a bird and can see a hundred leagues in front of him as well by night as by day. He can hear the grass growing on the earth and the wool on sheep, and everything that makes more noise – Snorri Sturluson

Hel

Hel was the goddess of the dead and the afterlife was Hel (Holle, Hulda), and was portrayed by the Vikings as being half-dead, half alive herself. The Vikings viewed her with considerable trepidation. The Dutch, Gallic, and German barbarians viewed her with some beneficence, more of a gentler form of death and transformation. She is seen by them as Mother Holle; a being of pure Nature, being helpful in times of need, but vengeful upon those who cross her or transgress natural law.

Höðr

(Old Norse: Hǫðr [ˈhɔðr] (listen); often anglicized as Hod, Hoder, or Hodur) is a blind god and a son of Odin and Frigg in Norse mythology. Tricked and guided by Loki, he shot the mistletoe arrow which was to slay the otherwise invulnerable Baldr.

Idun

Idun ("She Who Renews") is the Norse Goddess of youth Who grows the magic apples of immortality that keep the Gods young. Her husband Bragi is God of poetry. Loki, the God of mischief and fire, was once responsible for arranging Her abduction by the giant Thajazi. Without Her apples, the Gods soon began to age, and threatened Loki until He agreed to rescue Her, which He accomplished by borrowing Frejya's falcon robe and fleeing with Idun who He had changed to a nut. Alternate spellings: Idunn, Iduna, Idhunna

Kvasir

Kvasir is referred to as the “wisest of the gods” in The Binding of Loki. It is he who comes up with the plan to fish Loki out of the water using the net he fashioned from Loki’s own design. It is not entirely clear whether Kvasir is a god. In the Mead of Poetry, he is “created” from the spittle of the gods.

Loki

Loki was a mischievous god who could shape-shift and can take up animalistic forms. He conceived a scheme to cause the death of Baldr. Upon learning that mistletoe was the only thing that could hurt Baldr, he placed a branch into the hands of the blind god, Hodr, and tricked him into throwing it at Baldr, killing him. Loki, the Trickster, challenges the structure and order of the Gods which is necessary in bringing about needed change. In the Prose Edda Snorri Sturluson writes that Loki: is handsome and fair of face but has an evil disposition and is very changeable of mood. He excelled all men in the art of cunning, and he always cheats. He was continually involving the Aesir in great difficulties and he often helped them out again by guile. Neither an Aesir or a Vanir, he is the son of two giants and yet the foster-brother of Odin. Loki embodies the ambiguous and darkening relationship between the gods and the giants. He is dynamic and unpredictable and because of that he is both the catalyst in many of the myths and the most fascinating character in the entire mythology. Without the exciting, unstable, flawed figure Loki, there would be no change in the fixed order of things, no quickening pulse, and no Ragnarok. He is responsible for a wager with a giant which puts Freyja into peril (Myth 3) but by changing both shape and sex (characteristics he has in common with Odin) he bails her out. In Myth 10 he shears Sif’s hair which is more mischievous than evil, but he makes amends in the end. In Myth 8 his deceit leads to the loss of the golden apples of youth… but he retrieves them again. He helps the Gods and gets them out of predicaments, but spawns the worst monsters ever seen on the face of the Earth: Fenrir, Jormungand, the Midgard Wyrm. His other children include the goddess Hel (Hella, Holle), and Sleipnir, Odin’s 8-legged horse. It is now generally accepted that he is not a late invention of the Norse poets, but an ancient figure descended from a common Indo-European prototype and as such, Loki’s origins are particularly complex. He has been compared to several European and other mythological figures, most notably the Trickster of Native American mythology. As the myths play out, the playful Loki gives way to a cruel predator, hostile to the gods. He not only guides the mistletoe dart that kills Balder but stands in his way on his return from Hel (the citadel of Niflheim). His accusations against the gods at Aegir’s feast (Myth 30) are vicious. He is an agent of destruction causing earthquakes. And when he breaks loose at Ragnarok, Loki reveals his true colors; he is no less evil than his three appalling children, the serpent Jormungand, the wolf Fenrir and the half-dead, half-alive Hel (Myth 7), and he leads the giants and monsters into battle against the gods and heroes.

Mani

Máni (Old Norse "moon"[1]) is the personification of the moon in Norse mythology. Máni, personified, is attested in the Poetic Edda, compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources, and the Prose Edda, written in the 13th century by Snorri Sturluson. Both sources state that he is the brother of the personified sun, Sól, and the son of Mundilfari, while the Prose Edda adds that he is followed by the children Hjúki and Bil through the heavens. As a proper noun, Máni appears throughout Old Norse literature. Scholars have proposed theories about Máni's potential connection to the Northern European notion of the Man in the Moon, and a potentially otherwise unattested story regarding Máni through skaldic kennings.

Njord

Njord is the God of the wind and fertility as well as the sea and merchants at sea and therefore was invoked before setting out to sea on hunting and fishing expeditions. He is also known to have the ability to calm the waters as well as fire. Njord, one of the Vanir gods, was first married to his sister Nerthus and had two children with her, Frey and Freyja. His second wife was Skadi (Skade), a Giantess. When Skadi’s father was killed by the Aesir she was granted three “acts” of reparation one of which was to let her choose a husband from among the gods. She could pick her new husband, but the choice had to be made by looking only at the feet. She picked Njord by mistake, assuming his feet belonged to Balder. Njord and Skadi could not agree on where to live. She didn’t like his home Noatun at the Sea, and he didn’t like hers Trymheim, in the mountain with large woods and wolves, so they lived the first half of the year in Noatun and the other half in Trymheim. Njord is said to be a future survivor of Ragnarök in stanza 39 of the poetic Edda:

“In Vanaheim the wise Powers made him and gave him as hostage to the gods; at the doom of men he will come back home among the wise Vanir.”

Odin

The supreme deity of Norse mythology and the greatest among the Norse gods was Odin, the Allfather of the Æsir. He was the awe-inspiring ruler of Asgard, and most revered immortal, who was on an unrelenting quest for knowledge with his two ravens, two wolves and the Valkyries. He is the god of war and, being delightfully paradoxical, the god of poetry and magic. He is famous for sacrificing one of his eyes in order to be able to see the cosmos more clearly and his thirst for wisdom saw him hang from the World Tree, Yggdrasil, for nine days and nine nights until he was blessed with the knowledge of the runic alphabet. His unyielding nature granted him the opportunity to unlock numerous mysteries of the universe. Odin or, depending upon the dialect Woden or Wotan, was the Father of all the Gods and men. Odin is pictured either wearing a winged helm or a floppy hat, and a blue-grey cloak. He can travel to any realm within the 9 Nordic worlds. His two ravens, Huginn and Munin (Thought and Memory) fly over the world daily and return to tell him everything that has happened in Midgard. He is a God of magick, wisdom, wit, and learning. In later times, he was associated with war and bloodshed from the Viking perspective, although in earlier times, no such association was present. If anything, the wars fought by Odin exist strictly upon the Mental plane of awareness; appropriate for that of such a mentally polarized God. He is both the shaper of Wyrd and the bender of Oorlog; again, a task only possible through the power of Mental thought and impress. It is he who sacrifices an eye at the well of Mimir to gain inner wisdom, and later hangs himself upon the World Tree Yggdrasil to gain the knowledge and power of the Runes. All his actions are related to knowledge, wisdom, and the dissemination of ideas and concepts to help Mankind. Odin can make the dead speak in order to question the wisest amongst them. His hall in Asgard is Valaskjalf (“shelf of the slain”) where his throne Hlidskjalf is located. From this throne he observes all that happens in the nine worlds. He also resides in Valhalla, where the slain warriors are taken. Odin’s attributes are the spear Gungnir, which never misses its target, the ring Draupnir, from which every ninth night eight new rings appear, and his eight-footed steed Sleipnir. He is accompanied by the wolves Freki and Geri, to whom he gives his food for he himself consumes nothing but wine. Odin has only one eye, which blazes like the sun. His other eye he traded for a drink from the Well of Wisdom and gained immense knowledge. On the day of the final battle, Odin will be killed by the wolf Fenrir. Just as a point of curiosity: in no other pantheon is the head Deity also the God of Thought and Logic. It’s interesting to note that the Norse people set such a great importance upon logic. The day Wednesday (Wodensdaeg) is named for him.

Sif

Sif is the Norse Goddess of the grain Who is a prophetess, and the beautiful golden-haired wife of Thor. Thor is the thunder God and frequent companion of Loki, as He makes the perfect patsy, being not too bright. Sif is of the elder race of Gods or Aesir. She is a swan-maiden, like the Valkyries, and can take that form. By Her first marriage to the Giant Orvandil, Sif had a son named Ullr ("the Magnificent"), Who is a God of winter and skiing. By Her second husband Thor, She had a daughter, Thrudr ("Might"), a Goddess of storm and clouds and one of the Valkyries, and two sons, Magni ("Might") and Modi ("Anger" or "The Brave"), who are destined to survive Ragnarok and inherit Mjollnir from Thor (though some say the Giantess Jarnsaxa "Iron Sword" is their mother). Sif is famous for Her very long, very golden hair. One night, Loki, who just couldn't resist a little chaos and mischief, snuck into Her chamber and chopped it all off. A sobbing and horrified Sif went straight to Her husband, Who in His rage started breaking Loki's bones, one by one, until finally He swore to make the situation right. So, Loki went to the dwarves and persuaded them to make not only a new head of magic hair for Sif from pure gold, but also a magical ship and a spear. But Loki could not resist pushing His luck, and made a wager with two other dwarves, Brokk and Sindi, daring them to make better treasures. Loki was so sure of the outcome that He had let His own head be the prize. Underestimating the dwarves' skills (or the depth of their hatred for Him), He suddenly realized with a shock that Brokk and Sindi were winning! In desperation He changed Himself into a horsefly, biting and pestering the dwarves while they worked. Despite this they managed to produce several treasures, the most famous of which was Mjollnir, Thor's Hammer. The Gods were then called to arbitrate and declared Brokk and Sindi the winners. Loki promptly disappeared. When He was tracked down, He was again given to the dwarf brothers, but this time Loki agreed, yes, they had a right to His head, but the wager had said nothing about His neck. Frustrated with this "logic," the dwarves had to content themselves with sewing His lips shut. The new head of golden hair was given to Sif, where it magically grew from Her head just as if it were natural. Her golden hair is said to represent the wheat of summer that is shorn at harvest-time.

Skadi

Skadi is the Goddess of Winter and of the Hunt. She is married to Njord, the gloomy Sea God, noted for his beautiful bare feet (which is how Skadi came to choose him for her mate.) Supposedly the bare foot is an ancient Norse symbol of fertility. The marriage wasn’t too happy, though, because she really wanted Balder for her husband. She is the goddess of Justice, Vengeance, and Righteous Anger, and is the deity who delivers the sentence upon Loki to be bound underground with a serpent dripping poison upon his face in payment for his crimes. Skadi’s character is represented in two of Hans Christian Anderson’s tales: “The Snow Queen” and “The Ice Princess.”

Sol/ Sunna

Sól is the Norse Goddess of the Sun, also known as Sunna, though some hold that Sól is the mother and Sunna Her daughter. In Norse mythology, the Sun is female while the Moon is male. When the world was created from the body of the dead giant Ymir by the triad of Odin, Vili, and Ve, the Sun, Moon and Stars were made from the gathered sparks that shot forth from Muspellsheim, the Land of Fire. Sol ("Mistress Sun"), drives the chariot of the Sun across the sky every day. Pulled by the horses Allsvinn ("Very Fast") and Arvak ("Early Rising"), the Sun-chariot is pursued by the wolf Skoll. It is said that sometimes he comes so close that he can take a bite out of the Sun, causing an eclipse. Sol's father is Mundilfari, and She is the sister of Måni, the Moon-god, and the wife of Glaur or Glen ("Shine"). As Sunna, she is a healer. At Ragnarok, the foretold "Twilight of the Gods" or end of the world, it is believed the Sun will finally be swallowed by Skoll. When the world is destroyed, a new world shall be born, a world of peace and love, and the Sun's bright daughter shall outshine Her mother.

Thor

Thor was Odin’s most widely known son. He was the protector of humanity and the powerful god of thunder who wielded a hammer named Mjöllnir. Among the Norse gods, he was known for his bravery, strength, healing powers and righteousness. Tyr is the ancient god of War and the Lawgiver of the gods. The bravest of the gods, it is Tyr who makes the binding of Fenrir possible by sacrificing his right hand. Thor, also known as the Thunderer, was a son of Fjorgyn (Jord) and Odin by some, but among many tribes Thor supplanted Odin as the favorite god. He is the protector of all Midgard, and he wields the mighty hammer Mjollnir. Thor is strength personified. His battle chariot is drawn by two goats, and his hammer Mjollnir causes the lightning that flashes across the sky. Of all the deities, Thor is the most “barbarian” of the lot; rugged, powerful, and lives by his own rules, although he is faithful to the rest of the Aesir. The day Thursday (Thorsdaeg) is sacred to him.

Tyr

Tyr also seems to be a god of justice. His name is derived from Tiw or Tiwaz an Tacticus and other Roman writers have equated this character to Mars, the receiver of human sacrifice. His day is Tuesday. Tyr was the son of Odin though he is made out to be the son of the giant Ymir. Like Odin, he has many characteristics of the earlier Germanic gods of battle. Parallels in other mythologies along with archaeological discoveries relating to a one-handed god, suggest that this character is very old and was known in Northern Europe somewhere between one and two thousand years before Snorri Sturluson included it in his Prose Edda. Similarities can be found in the one-handed Naudu in Irish mythology and in Mitra, just god of the day, of Indian mythology.

Ve is one of ancient Scandinavian gods and, together with Odin and Vili, the son of the primordial pair of giants Bor and Bestla. The three brothers created heaven and earth from the slain body of the primeval being Ymir and built the twelve realms. They also created Ask and Embla, the first pair of humans.

Vili

In Scandinavian myth, one of the primordial gods, brother of Odin and Ve. The three of them were responsible for the creation of the cosmos, as well as the first humans.

Vidar

Vidar was another son of the supreme god and Grid (a giantess), and his powers were matched only by that of Thor.

Vali

He was born a fully-grown man. Little is known about Vali, except that he is a son of Odin and his giant mistress Rind. When Balder was killed unintentionally by his twin brother Hod, Vali was born to avenge his death.

“In the west Rind will give birth to Vali. Merely one night old he will avenge the son of Odin.

He will not wash his hands, nor will he comb his hair until Balder’s murderer burns at the stake.”

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platinumsupa · 6 years ago

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One Shot: The Dragon’s Hoard

A silly little domestic piece of fluff I wrote for some my best friends in the fandom, Undersea-Anchor and All-the-Cliches. (and also, half to break my writer’s block if I’m gonna be brutally honest). I posted this on the discord last night, but I’ve now added a real ending to it, so I decided to post it here too.

Anyway, a future-AU Diakko one shot!

The Cavendish family has always filled its ranks with adventurers and those looking for something more. Now, it would appear that the newest member of the Cavendish family is playing a daring game with a dragon...

(~2000 words)

~~~

Ami Cavendish ran through the Dragon’s Cavern as fast as her accursedly short legs could carry her. She gripped the Mystic Amulet she had stolen from the Hoard tightly in her young hands. She didn’t quite know where she was going, but she knew that she had to hurry.

She could hear the booming steps of her pursuer right behind her, hunting her down to take back what was hers, and the Witch who stole it along with it.

It was coming too fast for her to outrun for long. Thinking quickly, she hid behind a rock formation, hugging her knees to her chest to make herself smaller. She was not a moment too soon, as seconds after she ducked her head down, the room rumbled under the girth of a monstrous creature.

The Queen of Dragons entered the Cavern, her piercing blue eyes searching for her prey.

“Where did you go, little Ami?” The dragon called out, in an almost teasing voice. “You can’t hide forever, you know. I’m going to get you…”

Ami, despite her age, was a brave adventure, armed with the training and knowledge of her mothers. But even she could not defeat the beast alone. The Queen of Dragons was much too powerful. Her only option was to hide as the Dragon prowled over to an adjacent end of the cavern.

“Could you be…” The dragon suddenly ripped apart a rock formation. “Here? Ah, no. You wouldn’t hide there, would you? Perhaps she has escaped me…”

Ami covered her mouth, desperate not to make a sound as the footsteps approached her hiding position.

“Unless…”

The dragon’s powerful voice was low and menacing as she neared, growing closer with every second.

“…perhaps you might be behind…”

Ami glanced up to see the razor-sharp claws curl around the top of the rock, before it slowly began to pull it away…

~~~

Diana tossed the couch cushion aside, leveling Ami with a wicked grin. “…here!”

Ami scrambled to her feet, but before she could even think about getting away, Diana scooped her daughter into her arms with a thundering, monstrous growl.

The young girl wriggled and writhed to escape from her clutches. Her squirming only grew more frantic when Diana’s fingers started digging into her sides. “N-no! No no! Let me go!”

“I’ve got you now, little Ami.” Diana said, hugging her tighter. “And now the only thing left to do…is to eat you right up!”

Ami shrieked as Diana began nuzzling her face into her short, platinum blonde hair. “Aiiieee! Mama, help! She’s got me!”

Akko heroically dashed into the living room. “Not on my watch, you won’t, dragon! I’ll make sure you let that Great Witch go! Psheew!”

Akko waved her magic staff (in actuality, a random bauble Ami had found rummaging through a junk drawer) and at once, Diana clutched at her chest with a mighty groan.

The newly freed Ami scampered away to hide behind Akko’s legs. “Mama, we must keep the Amulet away from the Queen of Dragons!” Ami said, pressing the piece of jewelry into Akko’s hands. “It’s the only way to revive the World Tree and save magic as we know it!”

Diana pushed herself up to her knees, briefly breaking character as she did so. “Hold on. Don’t run so fast, you two. You’re going to slip and hurt yourself.”

Akko nodded at their daughter. “Got it! If you can save the day before the Amulet loses its power, you’ll be the greatest witch of all time!” She said. After meeting the look in Diana’s eye, she quickly added, “…but, you know, we can do it a little slower.”

Akko reached over to help her wife up to her feet. Diana smiled, and gratefully took her hand. Almost instinctively, Akko leaned over as Diana pressed quick peck to her cheek.

Ami’s face scrunched up at the display. “…Dragons aren’t supposed to kiss heroes.”

“And what if the dragon truly wishes to give someone a little kiss every now and then?” Diana challenged, not relinquishing Akko’s hand from her own.

Ami wasn’t entirely sure how to argue against that, but from the look on her face, she clearly didn’t agree. “…But she’s a Great Witch too, Mother.” She eventually decided. “We’re supposed to be defeating the dragons to save all of magic. It doesn’t make any sense for them to kiss.”

“Oh…” Akko realized. “…oh no…”

Ami’s eyes widened. “What?”

“The dragon queen! She’s…she’s using her mind powers to…hypnotize me!”

“What?”

“It’s too late for me!” Akko cried. “Save yourself, Ami! She’s got me! I’m…I’m falling to the dark side…!”

With a breathless gasp, Akko dramatically fell backwards into Diana’s arms as she pretended to daintily faint away.

Diana arched a brow at the woman now draped across her torso. “And what precisely do you think you’re doing?”

“It’s called improv, Di, you gotta keep up.” Akko waggled her brows. “Besides, if I’m on the dark side, I get to do this.”

She pushed herself upward until her lips met Diana’s. Akko grinned ear to ear as she pulled away. Diana fondly shook her head.

“You’re cute, darling.”

“Adorable.” Akko agreed. Diana snorted.

Their daughter, meanwhile, was completely indignant. “The dragon doesn’t have mind powers!” Ami insisted.

“But it would seem she does now, doesn’t it?” Diana said, narrowing her eyes dangerously. “And now, with that kiss, your Mama is under my wicked spell. How will you ever find the right magical hex to break her free?”

In response, Akko fell from Diana’s arms and to her knees. “Urgh, I’m changing…” She slowly trudged her way over to her daughter. “You need to get away, Ami…because I’m…I’m…”

Akko made a sudden grab at Ami, just barely (and deliberately) missing her entirely.

“I’m gonna getcha!”

Ami turned on her heels and ran, a surprised laugh escaping her lips. Akko was hot on her heels, tickling at the girl’s sides whenever she could get her hands within reach. The two of them dashed from one corner of the living room to the other.

Diana ended up giggling through her attempts at a reprimand. “A-Akko, for goodness sake!”

“You can’t team up!” Ami cried as she ducked under another grab. “I should be a dragon too now! You’re not allowed to team up anymore! Mother, help!”

“You better run!” Akko grinned. “I’m gonna get you! I’m gonna-!”

And it was right in that moment that Anna, the head maid, decided to walk into the living room, with a tray full of snacks. Akko barely managed to avoid colliding into her, largely from years’ worth of experience doing exactly that.

Ami was not quite so lucky.

“Good heavens!” Anna gasped. The tray fell from her hands, and clattered to the ground, sending her snacks all over the living room floor.

The three members of the Cavendish family collectively froze.

“Ahaha…” Akko met the glare being sent her way, and winced. “Um…sorry?”

Anna planted her hands on her hips in an especially unamused manner. “Lady Diana. I thought you brought home one child, not three.”

Diana coughed into her fist. “M-my apologies, Anna. Here, don’t trouble yourself. I’ll clean it up. It was my fault.”

As Diana quickly went to work to clean up the mess their game had made, she gave Ami a soft tap on her back, and the kind of significant look a child understood from their parent almost immediately. The little girl folded her hands in front of her dress and shyly approached Anna.

“I’m very sorry, Miss Anna.” Ami said. “It was an accident. It won’t happen again.”

Anna snorted. “I’ve certainly heard that before.”

Ami bowed deeply, visibly worried that she truly hurt the woman’s feelings this time. “I’m very very sorry! We were just playing a game, I didn’t mean to make a mess. Please don’t be mad?”

Anna gave her a skeptical look for a moment, before bending down to her level, signaling her to get closer so she could whisper into her ear.

“…You had better take this, then.” Anna discreetly handed her the key to the Manor’s library. “It will let you enter the magic realm. I’ll hold off your pursuers for as long as I can until then.”

Ami nodded solemnly. “I won’t forget what you’ve done here today, Miss Anna.”

“And don’t leave the…! Ah, magic tomes…all over the floor this time!” Anna called out to Ami’s rapidly retreating form. With that, Anna was left to be sacrificed to the ferocious dragons.

Diana picked up the last remnants of food and placed them on the tray to be washed up. “Are you alright, Anna?”

“Of course.” Anna nodded. “…though I must admit, sometimes I’m a little unprepared for how lively this house is these days.”

“I can certainly agree. All the years we’ve lived here…I never quite realized how overdue this old house was for some happy memories…”

Diana’s thoughts traveled back in time as her eyes wandered across the room, from the aged antiques that had been here since the day she was born, and all the new additions and touch-ups that had been added in her adult life.

The Manor truly wasn’t the same place anymore.

Akko sheepishly rubbed at the back of her neck. “Guess I should’ve slowed down like you said, huh? My bad. I just got a bit too into the game, is all.”

“Don’t apologize.” Diana shook her head. “She’s having a good time. That’s the important thing.”

“Hee, maybe one day she’ll grow up and we’ll all get to go up against real dragons together. How would that be for some quality family time?”

“Oh, stop.” Diana waved her hand. “I don’t think I’m ready to imagine her growing up yet. She’s just so curious, and full of energy…she gets that from you, you know. Sometimes, I wish these days could just last forever.”

Akko blinked. “Diana…? Is everything alright?”

Diana grinned. “Alright? I used to wonder what kind of life my mother imagined for me when I was Ami’s age. But now I’ve got a beautiful daughter of my own. I married the best friend I ever had. I don’t think I’ve ever felt so blessed.”

“You still get really sappy sometimes, huh?” Akko teased.

Diana snaked her arms around her wife’s shoulders, and pulled her closer. “I have everything I could ever want under one roof. Can you really blame me…?”

The kiss Diana gifted to Akko was filled with the kind of gratefulness mere words couldn’t express. Akko was not the spouse Diana’s ancestors had pictured for her. But instead, she was so much greater. Diana could spend a lifetime searching for just the right way to thank her for all the joy she had brought into her life.

And she intended to do exactly that. Their lips parted, and Diana caught the flicker of light glinting off of Akko’s wedding ring.

Akko, a little more red-faced and misty eyed than she likely realized, opened her mouth to say something sweet in return, but spotted something out of the corner of her eye.

“…I don’t think dragons are supposed to kiss heroes though. Or that’s what I heard, at least.”

Diana looked over. Ami was sticking her head around the corner of the hallway, spying on what the two of them were doing instead of finishing their game with her.

“Hmm…” Diana absently called out. “It seems my…dragon…nose…still smells an intruder. Where could she be hiding this time?”

Ami quickly ducked her head out of sight. The pitter-pattering sound of feet running down the hallway was all it took for Diana’s smile to spread even wider across her face.

“Dragon nose.”

“Don’t you mock me, Atsuko.”

“I’m just saying! You just gotta work on your improv skills!”

“Then perhaps I should keep practicing. I believe we gave her enough of a head start.” Diana turned to her wife, and gestured down the hall of the Manor. “Let’s go find our daughter then, shall we?”

#fanfic #drabble #cavendish family au #diakko #little witch academia #i don't know why i made this

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moonaft · 6 years ago

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The Winter Long - Reread

Rosemary and Rue

A Local Habitation

An Artificial Night

Late Eclipses

One Salt Sea

Ashes of Honor

Chimes At Midnight

Interlude : Full of Briers

As always, spoilers up to The Brightest Fell and October 2018 for the Patreon stories. No spoilers for Night and Silence, and at this point I think I’ll have finished the entire reread by the time I get my copy. Which is just as well.

First off, ‘the winter long’ is one line after ‘rosemary and rue’. Is the final book going to be ‘Grace and Remembrance’?

I really like TWL. This was a good book, filled with shifting allies and cameos by my favorite people. It’s probably my favorite after The Brightest Fell and not just because of Simon.

I am going to ignore the fact that the knowe is called ‘Muir Woods’ even before it was named that in 1908. Maybe? Maybe Arden took up the name really quickly. I can’t find a mention of it by name in Patrick’s first short story and I can’t dig up “In Little Stars” right now to check if it was called Muir Woods back then. Patreon’s search sucks.

Onto the ball! A good ball, in which no one gets poisoned or nearly assassinated and Toby doesn’t commit murder. Yeah, if I was her I also wouldn’t want to go to fancy balls. She takes after Sylvester in that regard.

Speaking of, hi Sylvester! Hi Li Quin!

Arden has social anxiety and needs more friends than Madden. I am surprised no noble Daoine Sidhe have come a-courting. At least she’ll get Walther and Cassandra to take jobs at court soon.

I love Arden subtly copying Quentin in table manners.

Are Raven-maids and -men the opposite of Selkies, born birds and need the feathers to transform? Jazz takes off her band to turn into a raven. Amandine doesn’t, but presumably her magic can force the transformation regardless. Though Amandine does imply that destroying the band will keep her as a human.

Yes, it’s time to put everyone to bed. Meanwhile, Toby gets to pull some all nighters.

Hello, Simon.

I love how no one has questioned where he was since Late Eclipses, and that only as a brief mention. He’s the tragic backstory, not meant to show up in the present. Oleander was that too, but now she’s dead and can’t hurt anyone anymore.

Yeah, she was really not expecting that. Why is it that the bad things only happen to Toby during the books? From the plot summaries, the time between the books is the only time she gets to relax.

Yes, that’s not Sylvester.

It’s sad how much Toby has internalized him as her personal boogeyman. Dugan, Riordan, Samson, the false Queen could all be fought. It wasn’t easy by any means, but here Toby’s given up without a fight which just doesn’t happen. She’s already determined this is a fight she can’t win.

I love that the first thing Simon does is praise her. He genuinely does not mean her ill-will.

So Simon has not seen Evening in years prior to TWL and did come to warn Toby about it. Or, turn her into a tree for a hundred years, but to him, that is helping. Evening didn’t send him so he must have gotten word somehow that she was returning. Where was he all those years?

Hello Jazz, you have great timing. Sorry that you are once again attacked in your own home.

Simon didn’t come in limping – Toby turning his spell back against him must have hurt him badly.

Why exactly does Simon have so many transformation spells? Is this his own flower-based transformation or something he got from Evening? It could be his own – he once transformed Patrick’s suit into something more modern and there’s no indication that eventually failed. And why fish? Could he have transformed Patrick into a fish so he and Dianda could spend time together in the Undersea without breathing spells? That would be so cute.

Good job on using your cats to warn Tybalt.

I think even May gets over her feelings by the time of TBF, or at least, she’s willing to let him try so they can save Jazz.

All in all, Simon’s going to get what he wants by the end of this book, namely, Toby’s safety. Sure, he’s elf-shot but so’s Evening. It’s TBF where he’s going to get his ass kicked repeatedly.

Same, Quentin – I too have an endless supply of songs about boats. Five bucks says you’re singing “The Mary Ellen Carter”.

Tybalt probably would still shred Simon to pieces given the change but he’s out of the picture for all of TBF.

Why do you think you can predict what Simon’s going to do, Toby? You know literally nothing about his objectives. He’s also willing to answer what he can of your questions and tell you things without being asked.

The knowe is willing to let Toby through, and she is family. Would the knowe have let Simon through because he helped build it? What about August?

Way to mess it up, Sylvester. You definitely should have told Toby about Simon before you sent her after him. But that’s in the past and doesn’t matter, does it, Sylvester? Just like September, just like August. It can’t hurt you anymore, right?

I do believe the twins were close once, and by 1840 that’s no longer the case, but it doesn’t matter until 1906. You didn’t help enough to find August, or you encouraged her too much, it doesn’t matter. Simon wanted you to hurt the way he hurt, and if you can’t see that, you have forgotten too much.

Yeah, I can’t imagine Simon hurting Amandine unless it was in direct defense of August or Toby. Sylvester, you should know Amandine’s not going to let him back into her life without August present. You should know this, why don’t you know this?

Tybalt, you told them to run, that is not the Torquills’ fault. Hey, remember that decree that says if you want to marry one of the three, that one can’t refuse?

“I need you to live long enough to be cannon fodder when Simon decides to attack.” Quentin loves you too, Toby.

You are missing a vital, vital piece of why Simon was running around with Oleander. He’s not doing it for shits and giggles, Toby.

Poor Luidaeg. It sucks having the answers and not being able to tell them. Toby’s doing better on the questions this time around.

“At least we know that Simon won’t be able to come after us there.” One small problem with that, Toby.

Does each Library have its own library card, or is it an all access pass?

Mags definitely wanted Toby to show up after Simon left. Whoops. And Toby, you still owe her your mother’s history.

Hi again, Simon. Maybe this time you can actually talk?

Yeah, the arrangement with Oleander is definitely non-con. Everyone is glad she’s dead except probably Evening.

Simon has three modes in this book: what he thinks will help Toby, what Toby thinks is helpful, and what he does as a servant of Evening. This is the middle interaction – useful information, no one is transformed or hurt.

Toby, remember you still owe Mags info on your mom.

Amandine definitely ruined your life, Toby, even if you don’t want to admit it.

Good job on raising the dead, Toby.

I guess Evening is a vampire? There’s at least one Snow White legend like that.

“Your lover was a Selkie; he told me quite a bit after he died.” How- What- Did the Luidaeg summon the night haunts to talk to Connor?

How long had Simon been sitting on Toby’s doorstep? He must have gotten straight to Shadowed Hills to get the roses and then back to her place. To the rose gardens at least, he couldn’t have gotten into the halls themselves.

This is the other thing – Toby stops again to ask her personal boogeyman for help. She trusts him enough to do that, which is something we don’t see anywhere else in the series. To be fair, Simon does keep insisting that he’s there to help, which is something no other villain does.

And Simon’s convinced she’s going to die.

May’s benched again, which is a recurring theme that she specifically acknowledges. Let this girl have a field trip with Toby.

Although not into the ocean because that’s where everyone ended up! Hi Dianda. Thanks for saving Toby from drowning.

I wonder what would have happened if Toby told Dianda that Simon gave her the warning. Probably nothing good – here’s yet another trusted authority figure who knew about that relationship and didn’t tell her.

Hello Evening. Hate to see you again. If only Dianda could punch you in the face.

Here her magic is roses and snow but I swear I’ve seen it described as roses and apples somewhere.

So where was she these past few years as she recovered? Does she have another knowe?

So why is Marcia not affected by Evening’s magic? Evening doesn’t recognize Marcia as anything other than changeling, I think. But Evening wouldn’t care that much. I really really want her to be Titania. Maeve would be cool too, but I want her to be Titania.

Good thing no one drowned in that little episode, including Tybalt and Quentin.

Hi Raj! Everything’s ok!

Props to Toby for being willing to burn the Library down to get it to close, and kudos to Mags for listening to her.

And Simon’s playing double agent on the phone. Toby couldn’t have gotten through this book without him.

Toby hasn’t actually slept since before the Yule ball. How many days and nights has it been since then?

So why did Evening get Quentin sent to Shadowed Hills directly after Luna and Raysel’s return? How did they break free?

Riordan was once in Alameda – how did she move down to Dreamer’s Glass?

And how did Sylvester know they were coming? Simon must have told Evening, or maybe Evening assumed Toby would show up.

Hi Etienne, Bridget and Chelsea!

Yes, leave the boys behind to play Xbox games. Good plan.

Luna does have several points about Evening, Raysel and Karen. Why, exactly, does Stacy have two Seer daughters? She is also smart enough to get her favor from Toby before telling Toby what’s going on.

Is Toby going to have to do a favor for every ally she has?

You can take the Daoine Sidhe out of the Torquill but you can’t take the fox-fur hair and golden eyes.

Poor Raysel. I hope this helps her.

Huzzah, Toby gets to sleep!

Hello again, Simon. OK, Toby doesn’t think he told Evening that she called Shadowed Hills. And he’s back at the house.

There’s something to be said for the image of Simon petting Toby’s rosebush-cat for hours.

Yes, everyone needs group therapy, which clearly doesn’t exist in Faerie.

Correction: there’s nothing in his blood now that she could change. If Toby knew enough to look, could she tell immediately? Maida told Toby that she was once a changeling, and now Toby can look at Quentin and see those watermarks. She has since looked at Sylvester and Simon and been unable to tell that they had human blood once, but Toby misses a lot.

Hmm, Toby is not this… intimate with anyone else. Mind walking while riding Simon’s blood? She’s never done this with living people before. I think if he can be saved in the end, it will involve something similar.

Yep, the non-con is strong here. Simon is a fascinating villain.

So what exactly was Simon planning here? Toby is not a tree. She’s out for several hours and up again. Was Simon buying her time?

Hi Luidaeg! Glad to see you up.

Titania also sounds like a shit mother.

Septiminus was Evening’s grandson. He certainly didn’t get his coloring from her.

“Most of her children died young.” But there were enough grandchildren to establish several Daoine Sidhe lines. Aethlin and Maida aren’t closely related to the Torquills or Dugan or Rhys or Riordan.

Maeve took what vengeance she could against Titania for the Luidaeg’s binding and we don’t know what that is, yet.

Ok, yes. This is where the Luidaeg says Evening’s signatures are apples and roses. Her own magic is brackish marshes and ocean air. Toby doesn’t ask about this.

Elizabeth Ryan would probably argue that the Luidaeg stole her heart but she isn’t here right now.

I am pretty sure Evening is older than the Luidaeg, but the Luidaeg implies Maeve could have had children before her, just not through Oberon. And none of them are living now.

The Luidaeg knows who Amandine’s mother is and can’t say.

Yes Evening, we know you don’t like Dianda and Patrick’s marriage. You can shut up about it now.

Is Dawn one of the things the Luidaeg can’t talk about? She is not mentioned at all in this book, least of all by Toby.

And Simon’s under Evening’s control again. Poor Tybalt.

And Toby’s covered in her own blood again.

Dammit, Sylvester, Simon’s better at giving Toby answers than you are.

Yes, which of the Queens owned that key? And what exactly is it?

Oh you still don’t know better by now, Toby. You are still somewhat blind to what’s going on around you.

Nice job breaking Evening’s spell, Toby.

Oh Simon, you were so close.

Being stabbed with Simon’s elf-shot laced blood is enough to take out a Firstborn but somehow drinking Nolan’s blood didn’t put Toby out.

Though being asleep isn’t going to stop her…

Naww, Tybalt and Toby are cute together.

Man, I really want to see Dianda and Patrick’s reactions on learning that Evening is the Daoine Sidhe Firstborn. And why does no one seem to recall Dawn? Is there a world-wide “don’t think about it” spell? If so, who could cast it?

#october daye

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zippdementia · 5 years ago

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Part 82 Alignment May Vary: Mirrors of the Abyss (Don’t Wake the DemiLich!)

The next part of our adventure is taken from Mirrors of the Abyss, by Ryan Durney. I highly recommend it as a rare high level adventure. Very much worth a purchase. I will be covering huge aspects of it and it will not be spoiler-free, though it is a random enough adventure that there is PLENTY we won’t see on this playthrough and some additional material for our own story. Much of the art in this blog is taken directly from the module and is illustrated by Ryan Durney. The purpose in using it here is to show off how beautiful and professional the product is, not to claim such images as our own. I sincerely hope it inspires you to purchase the product!

Entering the Maze

Imoaza uses a ritual she finds in the Librarian’s book to enter a specialized maze built specifically for her out of her memories and controlled, in part, by her emotions. Here Imoaza needs to find Hecate, who holds one half of the key to the exit.

Imoaza’s journey begins back in her old caves, where Carrick and Aldric met her so long ago. She is temporarily forgetful of her task, thinking she is back in that time, as well as place. But her magic isn’t fully working, which is unusual, and she has the crown of stars upon her head from the spell she cast in the Marilith fight (also unusual, because she did not know that spell back in that time). These clues eventually give her reason to remember her cause: find Hecate. So she proceeds deeper into the tunnels, where her instincts tell her Hecate is hiding.

She encounters a fire-breathing minotaur in the caves, but confounds it by running into a side tunnel and collapsing it behind her when it gives chase. But this leads her to an impasse.

Imoaza stared at the pit in front of her. It was wide, impassable, and seemingly bottomless. She couldn’t go back, not now, and the way forward was non-existent. Her frustration built up inside of her, and as it did, the chasm beneath her filled with a red hot glow...

Imoaza not only becomes frustrated, she feels despair and the desire to give up. This leads to the platform crumbling underneath her and she falls... but is caught by Hecate from the entrance to another cave. Hecate pulls her to safety and then holds up her hands.

“I have a question for you, mother. If you make it back to Faerun, what will you do next? Will you build the Yuan-Ti empire again, ensure it is the greatest of all empires, and secure our rightful place as rulers of the world?”

Hecate has decided that she is tired of fighting Imoaza. Having been defeated time and again, she now believes Imoaza is the greatest Yuan Ti to ever live, and one with the power to restore their lost dominion over mankind. But Imoaza is no longer certain of this goal: her time with Carrick and the others has created a doubt of her own pride.

“We would have to avoid our previous errors,” she says. “We cannot build an empire on hubris.”

“Hubris?” Hecate hisses. “Is it hubris for the strong to rule the weak?”

Again, Imoaza is not as sure of herself as she once was. So she hesitates, while Blackrazor hoarsely whispers at Hecate’s side, “what are you waiting for?! Strike her down!”

Finally Imoaza says, “I want an empire to last. And it cannot do that alone. There is much to be gained from working with the other races.”

Hecate does not like this. At this point, I decide a Charisma check is in order, to decide where Hecate lies, because she is torn to loyalty to the one who has proven her strength and a concern that Imoaza has grown weak in the presence of humans. We roll. Imoaza has a +5 to Charisma. Hecate at the time I think has a +5 (I find out later it’s a +3, oops!) and this makes the roll very exciting: Hecate rolls an 18 and Imoaza a 19. It also gives me something to interpret as far as Hecate’s mood: she decides to go along with Imoaza for now, giving her the benefit of the doubt, but openly states she reserves the right to challenge Imoaza if she does not have the Yuan-Ti interests in mind.

“Everything I’ve ever done I’ve done for my people,” Imoaza says. “For OUR people.”

“Well, I’m friggin’ done with you pussies!” Blackrazor’s hoarse voice cuts sharply across the chill air. “Done with mopers, posers, and kids with mommy issues. I’m going to go find someone worthy of wielding my power!”

And with that, the blade leaps from Hecate’s hip, cuts a rip in the air and dives through, gone from the campaign... for now.

Hecate and Imoaza continue down the tunnel for a time, Hecate explaining that she has a torn page in her possession, a page which contains half of a ritual to escape the Library chamber. It is the half of the key! The other half must be the rest of the spell.

The tunnel ends abruptly with a sudden change: the two Yuan Ti find themselves in a dwarven ruin, facing a beardless dwarf who is sweating over a forge. He wipes his brow and looks at them.

“Just in time!” he says. “Do you have the sword? Aldric’s sword, I mean. Where is he?”

Hecate and Imoaza look at each other. “Er... no,” Imoaza says. “Aldric is... not here. And the sword is gone, too.”

“What? Did he redeem it? He did redeem it, right?”

“Uh, no, not exactly. The sword left--”

“Left? What did it say? Did it SAY anything?”

“It said it was going to find its master,” Hecate answers.

The dwarf hangs his head. “Then all is lost.”

And with that, the tunnels disappear and Imoaza finds herself back in the Library, with Hecate at her side. She spots her companions, but something is missing...

And They All Fall Down...

While Imoaza has been searching for Hecate inside the specialized maze spell, the rest of the party is searching the library for clues on how to escape. Carrick and Remus check out an exhibit to lichdom that they feel might hold the key: it is an altar to a very unusual demilich, holding his skull and a number of gemstones that are supposed to activate him, but which Esheballa never had any luck with.

A‘DO NOT TOUCH: Actual Demilich,’ The skull is said to be not that of Acererak, but of one ‘Aelyx Illmaeric’ [Aye-lix Illmare-ik] a power-mad, black-hearted sea-faring pirate-necromancer, who achieved Lich status and followed Acererak’s template to demilich. Unlike Acererak, Aelyx was braggadocios about all of his dark exploits, hiding in open sight, and keeping meticulous ledgers about his kills, methods and experiences. Aelyx recognized the need and the uses for souls and that the building of a dungeon capable of grinding adventurers was tantamount to maintaining power, post-mortem. His ‘Tomb of Horrors’ was a hulking ship, ported against an undersea entrance to his tomb. He wrote that the surrounding waters were ‘dark and grim with the thousands of drownings of those trying to gain entrance.’” At the end of the plaque, Eshebala's script continues: “One of Aelyx’s loudest and least believable boasts was that he kept a blade that could kill any god ‘in one good stab of where its heart should beat!’ I am still seeking the phylactery and the eyes of this demilich skull of Aelyx Illmaeric, as I have many questions for him.”

Daymos is hailed by a Quasit, whom he names Whisper, and who basically falls in love with him, considering him a FIRE GOD after she saw what he did to the other Quasits. Whisper wears the burnt remains of her maid outfit and the player decides she is a female, in an uncomfortable conversation about whether or not Quasits have genitalia based on their image in the Monster Manual. Sounds like a good conversation for a later Bestiary episode...

Daymos also finds an ancient cursed spellbook, which destroys his own spellbook and boosts his spell power prodigiously. But there are some consequences, which will make themselves known in time...

More immediate consequences are had when Milosh discovers a strange scarecrow doll on the third floor, which is able to communicate through Daymos’ telepathy. The doll tells them that he is a lost soul who can return to life if only they can find his mother’s gem. He describes it and this matches one of the gems in the Aelyx exhibit.

Well, the party kinda immediately gets suspicious. This has to be the demi-lich, right? The doll denies it when they confront him, but the party is pretty sure they are right. Still, this might be the key to leaving so they prepare themselves and give the doll the eye. “Hey, so if you are a demilich, just remember this good turn we are doing for you and help us get out of this chamber,” Daymos says, as the doll grins and shoves the gemstone into the eye socket of the skull...

... and transports all of them to a pocket dimension, filled with the aether of creation. Aelyx stands before them, restored to his former skeletal self, wielding a long dagger and wearing two crowns, one set inside the other: a gold one and a silver one. His one eye, made of the sea-blue gem that was placed there, glints in a light that seems to come from nowhere but shins down on him like a spotlight.

“She was trying the wrong eye,” he explains in a flamboyent and jubilant voice. “I lost my LEFT eye to the damnable fishmen, not my RIGHT eye.”

The players look around and see they are standing on a gangplank, floating in this abyss of nothingness.

“You said to take you out of that chamber,” Aelyx says. “I have done so. Now you can do a favor for me... sacrifice your souls to me, so that I may regain my strength and rebuild my tomb of horrors!”

This fight is a tough one. Everyone is on a 60x10 ft platform, facing down Aelyx. Aelyx isn’t the strongest lich, like he doesn’t have access to any lich spells, but he uses legendary actions to attack after everyone’s turn (well, up to three times a round) and on his own turn can attack with his devastating dagger, which has a +25 to damage! The legendary actions do one of two things: either he grabs at the nearest player and drains them of their life and exhausts them (hoping to eventually suck their soul inside his gemstone eye), or he blasts them with a specialized magic missile, which does a ton of damage and tries to shove them off the platform.

Carrick and Remus rush Aelyx (”This is bad,” Carrick’s player says, “I’m rushing a demilich.”) Shortly after, the party quickly realizes that Aelyx is too strong for them. Daymos feels the most safe, with his ability to turn into a psychic thought form and float around. But this won’t help him survive a direct onslaught: he only has 50 health, after all. He immediately sends Whisper (his new familiar) to frighten Aelyx, but as the Quasit makes scary faces at the Lich, Aelyx simply bats it aside, not caring. Meanwhile, Milosh does some quick thinking, so quick that I actually have to pause the game for a second to figure out how to handle it.

Aelyx was opening his mouth to deliver another speech when Milosh aimed his gunarm and fire a grappling hook directly at the lich’s chest. It struck and Aelyx looked down, bemused.

“And what is the purpose of this intrusion on my personal space?” he asked.

Milosh answered by leaping off the platform, his 400 pounds of weight quickly pulling Aelyx with him. Aelyx reached out and clutched Carrick, his hand turning to solid gold around the Paladin’s collar. With the two of them holding on, and Aelyx’s magical strength, Milosh’ weight could barely be held, but they were slipping towards the edge...

It’s a really cool move by Milosh! And it’s set us up for a crazy situation. The problem is Aelyx’s grip on Carrick: it is sapping his life quickly! Carrick goes unconscious and without his added strength, Aelyx topples over the edge, dragging Carrick with him. Remus rushes to the edge of the gangplank and, saying a prayer to his goddess, throws himself off, catching Carrick mid air and transferring a cure spell into him.

“Carrick... live!” Remus says, and then falls into the abyss, gone. And through his unconsciousness, Carrick hears him.

Carrick opens his eyes and sees first the crazed skeletal grin of Aelyx as the lich tightens his grip on his collar. Milosh is beneath them both, his weight dragging them down towards the abyssal storm which will tear them apart and end the threat of the Lich. Carrick sees Milosh looking up at the gangplank and realizes he intends to Misty Step back to it, leaving the Lich to his fate. But he can’t, or won’t, because Carrick is held in the Lich’s grip. At that moment, Milosh shifts his gaze and sees Carrick, the man he considers the Surveyor and his creator, looking at him.

“It’s okay,” Carrick says. “Let go.” It is a gentle voice, but it is also a command. And Milosh obeys his creator.

Milosh appears back on the gangplank and immediately spins around to fire his grappling hook and catch Carrick. But Carrick is already gone.

There is a bright flash and Milosh and Daymos (and his quasit familiar, Whisper) appear back in the library. This time, Imoaza is there, too, and Hecate. But Milosh can barely process Hecate’s unexpected appearance.

“Where is Carrick?” Imoaza asks. Milosh tries to answer, starting with his characteristic “Ah!” but before he can get a full sentence out, he turns away and his body shakes and he can speak no more.

Concluding the Library

The remainder of the library is really just clean up work. This was a long chamber, partially because I added the maze element and partially because they fought the Demi-Lich Aelyx. Also, though, the end of the library is a lot of rolls involving searching the library for the proper book. The rolls lead to a lot of different books in the library and each is very interesting but also very involved. Some are entire books, like the Necronomicon, excerpts of which are lovingly created as beautiful handouts at the end of Mirrors and full of pentagrams and secret spells (and hidden dangers, oh so many hidden dangers). These are like entire games unto themselves and I don’t want to overwhelm my players. Since we are using Mirrors as a bridge to the rest of our campaign, I don’t want to drift too far from our story beats. So I cut this back a bit: the players know enough about what they are looking for that as long as they pass their Intelligence based search checks, they will find the book leading them out. But I am also open to them finding some other things along the way, which we roll randomly. They find some interesting things, like the aforementioned Necronomicon (but Imoaza doesn’t open it) and a list of some secrets, including a hint to follow a fossil wall. Meanwhile, Hecate grabs a number of the gems that were used to try and activate Aelyx, including a beautiful ruby one that will become important later on...

Long story short, the players find the spell needed to make the portal out of here appear, but they also find a spell to affect this portal so that they get brief impressions of every other chamber and get to choose where they want to go. They choose a Sea Temple, hoping to find a place to rest, and they leap through the portal, ending up on a windswept and lonely wasteland of a beach, with huge waves crashing against a nearby sea wall covered in gigantic fossils.

Milosh still seems stunned as they arrive. In fact, his mind is reeling from a number of revelations that rushed upon him while he was trying to comprehend Carrick’s death. While the others searched for a way out of the library, Milosh went deep inside his own mind and there found memories he didn’t know he had. Memories of being on a distant planet, in a different body, with a different Surveyor offering him a chance to become something great, something more than he was, but something that would change his life forever. Darkness then, and a new body, one that can survive space and time and the dangers of his mission.

And then he remembers what he has been trying to all along. Next time, we’ll reveal what that is, on To Sea What They Could Sea.

But before we get to that, one last thing happens... far away, on the planet of Faerun, in a temple once built by the Yuan Ti, in a forgotten capsule, Carrick opens his eyes, then takes a deep breath as his capsule opens and he steps out, back on his home, but in a new body: the body of the true final surveyor.

#Mirrors of the Abyss #Dungeons and Dragons #DnD 5e

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inkymerdevil-blog · 7 years ago

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About

Name: Bendy

Age: 5-18

Gender: Intersex Male

Height: 2′9″

Weight: 20 lbs

Appearance:

Personality:

Bendy is a rather timid and shy mer toon, preferring to hide in his mother’s shadow then socialize with others. When he is truly himself he likes to pull pranks and jokes on others, but only when he feels that they’ll laugh with him after the prank occurs. For a while, Bendy wasn’t properly socialized due to his lonely upbringing. After his adventure on the surface however, he was given the proper socialization that he needed. Bendy is very friendly and often stops to help children in trouble. he hates to see anyone cry, especially children.

History:

It is unsure how exactly Bendy came to be. Some say that he was merely created by his mother using her dark magic abilities, while others say that he is her actual blood child. No one really knows for sure, and no toon has lived to see the light of day if they ask.

Ursula is Bendy’s mother. She is a rather pretty looking mer toon for her age. She had Bendy very late in her life, when she thought that her egg laying days were over. Ursula is the exiled sister of the reigning king of the mer toons, Poseidon. Banished from the capital for trying to take the throne for herself, she made her home in an abandoned cave far enough away that Poseidon wouldn’t come after her. She tried to take the throne using dark magic, a forbidden form of magic highly frowned upon in the undersea world.

Her dreams of reclaiming the throne from Poseidon were not crushed by her banishment, and some claim she had steady dealings with the world above. Particularly an area known as Inkwell Isle was a place she frequently visited. Taking a land-based form and a new identity thanks to her dark powers, she set out to find some assistance in her quest.

Boy did she find help.

The devil of the highly acclaimed casino himself offered to lend her a hand in exchange for dealings in the society below the waves. However things became more than just a business relationship over the span of many years. Ursula and the Devil got to know each other quite well. Ursula however was never sure if she truly loved the Devil or if she was incapable of feeling any kind of love at all for anyone. The former sea mistress had built up her abilities with the Devil’s help on land, but knew she had to return to the sea eventually. With the fondest of goodbyes to the Devil and his lackeys, she returned to the sea to begin the first step in her plan.

But something got in the way of her plans.

Ursula quickly found out that she was pregnant a few months into her planning. Maybe that drunken night with the Devil wasn’t just a dream after all... She would have to work with this in order for things to go as smoothly as possible. This may also work well for her anyways. Having a child and pretending to be reformed may let her gain favor with her brother, who was always on the lookout to keep her away.

Ursula laid one egg deep within the caverns of her home, patiently waiting for the day when her new baby would be born into this world. Any potential intruders were either killed, eaten or scared away by her protective instincts.

Finally however, the egg hatched. Gifting the sea witch with what appeared to be a beautiful baby boy. Upon further inspection she discovered that he was also female, but since he looked more like a male then he was a male to her. Honestly the baby could be whatever gender he wanted later on, but for now Ursula needed to gender the baby for her sanity so male he was.

This was the first time that Ursula had felt pure love for anything in her life. Not even the Devil had made her feel the way she was at this very moment. She cried for what seemed like forever while holding her baby boy in her arms.

She didn’t name him until a few days later, when he stretched his arm farther than any other toon had before to reach something sitting on a shelf. Then the name came to her. Bendy.

Her baby boy Bendy.

For now the reclaiming her rightful throne project was on hold until Bendy could fend for himself enough to leave the cave for hours at a time. He turned out to be shy, timid and nervous around most things at first. Ursula was a good mother, coaxing him out of his shell and getting him to believe in himself. She even taught him some basic black magic in case he got into a sticky situation and needed to defend himself or attack. And as a protection charm, she made him a necklace out of valuable blue pearls. Each pearl charmed with a different spell of protection to keep him safe.

Bendy one day strayed too far from his home and ended up up being caught by a fisherman off the coast of Inkwell Isle. He had always been curious about the surface, despite his mother’s warnings about the place being harsher than the sea. The fisherman who caught Bendy sold him to a traveling circus for big money when he tried to sell the mer toon at the local market.

Bendy was heartbroken. Not only did he not listen to his mother, but he may never see her again. He sobbed and begged to be released back to the sea, but all the circus ringleader saw was dollar signs. Lots of money to be made from his new attraction, which would star in the wonders of the world exhibit.

Day after day Bendy swam around in a small tank, becoming more and more depressed as time went on. People stopped, stared and pointed at him. eyes filled with awe at the sight of a creature that was thought to never exist.

Two young cup brothers happened to be visiting the traveling circus when they came across Bendy. Of course, like usual Bendy paid them no heed and laid around in a depressed manor. The brothers, Cuphead and Mugman got increasingly worried seeing the poor toon in such a state. Bendy was also skinny and increasingly tired. His muscles ached from lack of exercise and poor nutrition. Checking to see if anyone else was in the exhibit, the two brothers decided to get Bendy out of the horrible situation.

It took some coaxing and the promise of lots of food to get Bendy to go with them. The brothers snuck out of the circus with Bendy on their backs before anyone could notice that he had been removed from his exhibit.

Bendy was immediately taken to Elder Kettle, who informed the brothers that Bendy was a mer toon, a toon that lived under the sea and rarely socialized with toons that lived on land. He also expressed his concern for Bendy’s health, as it was extremely poor.

The brothers were unsure how to help Bendy at this point, but Elder Kettle had a solution. There is a marine research station on one of the isles that could help rehabilitate the mer until he could return to the wild. Cuphead and Mugman immediately took Bendy there to recover, and often visited him when they were free.

Bendy didn’t want to trust the two land dwellers at first, but they did save his life and he was feeling a lot better, so the three had long happy chats that lasted for hours when Cuphead and Mugman had nowhere else to be. Even Elder Kettle went for visits once in a blue moon.

Soon Bendy was well enough to go home. With the help of his newfound friends, he was returned to the sea. He would miss the cup brothers, but he was a toon of the sea. They were toons of the land. A friendship would be hard to maintain when the friends lived in two completely different worlds.

Bendy immediately went home to his mother, who praised whatever deity that was watching over him. He was home safely! Many things had changed in the sea while Bendy was away. The banishment on Ursula was lifted due to the mere existence of Bendy, and she was in the process of moving back to the castle. Poseidon had told her that only when she truly loved another could she even dream about returning.

That other was Bendy.

Soon Bendy went to his new home in the capital of Atlantis, and was crowned a prince due to his mother’s bloodline. Bendy got all sorts of attention that he really didn’t want from being a prince. He was so used to being a nobody, someone that no one cared about. And now all of a sudden he was this big deal?

Sure, he got to meet all his cousins. Who were all girls, and his mother seemed a lot happier going home... But Bendy often wondered if she had just given up on reclaiming the throne while he was away.

He knew of her obsession to reclaim the throne from her brother from an early age, as she did a very poor job of hiding it. Why would she just give up that dream?

The answer was simple:

Bendy.

She gave up all her hopes and dreams because she realized that Bendy deserved more than what she was planning.

Now although she had made a pact with the devil in the realm above the sea about regaining the throne, she went to shore and burned the contract while no other toon was looking. Thus freeing her from any debt owed to the devil.

For now, the undersea kingdom of Atlantis is in an era of peace with the return of Ursula. She was given a job by her brother, well two actually. A personal adviser to him, and the royal magician since she was an incredible magic user.

Some hoped that Bendy would follow in her footsteps as the royal magician, but for now he is engrossed in royal studies with his cousins. Some things he enjoys, but others like proper etiquette and pronunciation he could care less about. He wasn’t raised to be a prince. Why should he act like one?

But the devil is slowly catching wind of Bendy’s existence on the surface...

And he wants answers.

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