#the runes the vault the swords

[rhendarzon]

On Journey Roads and Judgement Calls

Ordinarily a druid's journey to the Sun Shrine is not long, but there are a great deal of things that make the present circumstances rather extraordinary. Rhen might be the Oracle's Chosen One, but this does not give her the power of teleportation--and thus, she and her party have another long walk ahead of them if they are to see Rashnu safely to Aveyond.

As told by Rashnu, the Druid of Darkness. Set during Rhen's Quest. 6 chapters, total of 12.7k words. No warnings, no spoilers if you've played the game to the point of rescuing Rashnu.

Peace had never felt so chaotic.

The world hit my senses with the force of a tidal wave. My balance was compromised, I needed to right it. I was under attack, I needed to defend myself. The daeva--

--- --- ---

[the-chronicle-of-holy-days]

Day 13

Liber Liberi vel Lapidis Lazuli

V

1. O my beautiful God! I swim in Thy heart like a trout in the mountain torrent.

2. I leap from pool to pool in my joy; I am goodly with brown and gold and silver.

3. Why, I am lovelier than the russet autumn woods at the first snowfall.

4. And the crystal cave of my thought is lovelier than I.

5. Only one fish-hook can draw me out; it is a woman kneeling by the bank of the stream. It is she that pours the bright dew over herself, and into the sand so that the river gushes forth.

6. There is a bird on yonder myrtle; only the song of that bird can draw me out of the pool of Thy heart, O my God!

7. Who is this Neapolitan boy that laughs in his happiness? His lover is the mighty crater of the Mountain of Fire. I saw his charred limbs borne down the slopes in a stealthy tongue of liquid stone.

8. And Oh! the chirp of the cicada!

9. I remember the days when I was cacique in Mexico.

10. O my God, wast Thou then as now my beautiful lover?

11. Was my boyhood then as now Thy toy, Thy joy?

12. Verily, I remember those iron days.

13. I remember how we drenched the bitter lakes with our torrent of gold; how we sank the treasurable image in the crater of Citlaltepetl.

14. How the good flame lifted us even unto the lowlands, setting us down in the impenetrable forest.

15. Yea, Thou wast a strange scarlet bird with a bill of gold. I was Thy mate in the forests of the lowland; and ever we heard from afar the shrill chant of mutilated priests and the insane clamour of the Sacrifice of Maidens.

16. There was a weird winged God that told us of his wisdom.

17. We attained to be starry grains of gold dust in the sands of a slow river.

18. Yea, and that river was the river of space and time also.

19. We parted thence; ever to the smaller, ever to the greater, until now, O sweet God, we are ourselves, the same.

20. O God of mine, Thou art like a little white goat with lightning in his horns!

21. I love Thee, I love Thee.

22. Every breath, every word, every thought, every deed is an act of love with Thee.

23. The beat of my heart is the pendulum of love.

24. The songs of me are the soft sighs:

25. The thoughts of me are very rapture:

26. And my deeds are the myriads of Thy children, the stars and the atoms.

27. Let there be nothing!

28. Let all things drop into this ocean of love!

29. Be this devotion a potent spell to exorcise the demons of the Five!

30. Ah God, all is gone! Thou dost consummate Thy rapture. Falútli! Falútli!

31. There is a solemnity of the silence. There is no more voice at all.

32. So shall it be unto the end. We who were dust shall never fall away into the dust.

33. So shall it be.

34. Then, O my God, the breath of the Garden of Spices. All these have a savour averse.

35. The cone is cut with an infinite ray; the curve of hyperbolic life springs into being.

36. Farther and farther we float; yet we are still. It is the chain of systems that is falling away from us.

37. First falls the silly world; the world of the old grey land.

38. Falls it unthinkably far, with its sorrowful bearded face presiding over it; it fades to silence and woe.

39. We to silence and bliss, and the face is the laughing face of Eros.

40. Smiling we greet him with the secret signs.

41. He leads us into the Inverted Palace.

42. There is the Heart of Blood, a pyramid reaching its apex down beyond the Wrong of the Beginning.

43. Bury me unto Thy Glory, O beloved, O princely lover of this harlot maiden, within the Secretest Chamber of the Palace!

44. It is done quickly; yea, the seal is set upon the vault.

45. There is one that shall avail to open it.

46. Nor by memory, nor by imagination, nor by prayer, nor by fasting, nor by scourging, nor by drugs, nor by ritual, nor by meditation; only by passive love shall he avail.

47. He shall await the sword of the Beloved and bare his throat for the stroke.

48. Then shall his blood leap out and write me runes in the sky; yea, write me runes in the sky.

This day is for my Cult ❤️❤️❤️ years favorite is in bold.

Artwork from https://www.lisasterle.com/mwt

[esgaril]

I couldn't resist, I made Orly in Daggerheart. check out this badass bard! I got him to level 10 so he's probably more powerful than canon, but I tried to be as close to canon as possible. I gave him weapons and he's pretty great with them, but I think he'd use his spells more than his sword

the whole character sheet is a bit much, so more details under the cut

effects and features:

he is a bard of course, but I had to multiclass him into ranger a little bit for official navigation skills

he's very much supportive, but has his own tricks up his sleeve as we learned when he had to fight. I like the power push spell, that seems great on a ship and I wonder if ice spikes can pierce the hull of an enemy ship

also counterspell is a must, but levitation seems useful too to get up on the mast or to repair the sails. rune circle also has a push feature to it as well as automatic damage and only costs a hope. I chose the wayfinder subclass of ranger for the path forward feature, but apex predator is pretty badass too

mage hand is always useful and marine layer - I just had to for Captain Tusktooth. as for inspirational words: Orly always takes care of the crew

additional cards in the vault for out of combat situations:

Orly doesn't have it in canon, but if it was within his power he'd totally make sure he can give the crew a place to stay at all times

he's quite good at being prepared and a secret plan can be clutch. I chose a card in the loadout that has free swap to trade this in without paying the stress cost

astral projection might be a bit much, but I think he'd use it to check in with Fjord occasionally, but also as an emergency alert system: it's much easier to tell all the details of the situation in person rather than in 25 word chunks and this way he can show them on the map where they are

the last one of course is once again about protecting the crew in a tough situation

this was quite fun, thanks for coming to my ted talk

[sealrock]

What is your character(s) weapon of choice? Do they have a specific weapon they carry around with them that you could describe in detail or is it more of a metaphorical 'if they could chose from this list, they would choose x'? Has this weapon changed over the years?

answering for all:

paris: as an all-rounder warrior of light, paris has no particular weapon of choice. they do, however, tend to collect various weapons of legend (i.e. relic weapons) to keep in their personal vault yves: yves' weapon of choice is his mystical claymore named 'fragarach', embedded with runes and magic only yves can use. crafted by his mother to protect and aid him, yves has kept his sword by his side throughout the centuries. the weapon itself has not changed throughout this time achille: besides being efficient in hand-to-hand combat, achille owns an ornate labrys that was given to him by his adoptive father on his 17th nameday. achille is more likely to use his fists as his weapon of choice, but he can switch to his axe if the situation calls for it. he dubbed the nameless labrys 'bonebreaker' when he couldn't come up with anything else. the weapon has slowly begun to grow dull and chipped in the last few years due to achille's lack of care hector: he owns a magicked rod embedded with a large orb of auracite, a heirloom that he stole from the tatlonghari family years ago. the orb itself appears to change color with certain spells and incantations. it doesn't have a name but hector has kept his rod the same throughout the years andromache: her weapon of choice is an antique sword in rather excellent condition named 'the untamed' she found during her journeys in recent years, the blade aspected to the elements. she's never seen without it, and the blade has made her a formidable opponent against even the strongest warriors patroclus: patroclus carries a grimoire as his weapon of choice. at first glance it looks no different from an ordinary tome, but the pages are filled with text and symbols of arcanima. patroclus has owned this grimoire, which he calls 'ilion', for quite a while; he created the book and its contents himself in secret throughout his teen years kirke: her weapon of choice is a staff of allagan construction, but with design liberties she slowly added on, the most prevalent is lunar motifs. calling it 'aglaos', it has been in kirke's possession since the very beginning of the 6th astral era after she became free from her allagan prison evander: while not a weapon in the classic sense, evander has his chemist kit on hand, so it has no name. usually contained in a travel bag, evander's equipped with 4 floating milpreves to help heal and various potions he can mix to create more potent effects depending on the situation, whether for offense or defense. the kit itself has remained the same since evander first put it together 5 years prior azem (helen): a weapon of choice for helen is a thin star globe of their own creation, which carries the name 'parthenos'. embedded with a small chunk of crystal in the middle and aetheric playing cards holding several different creations and familiars, it carries an astrological motif fitting for the current azem's seat. it has since been destroyed due to unforseen calamity

[officialleehadan]

Fire in the Ring

Myth and Magic

+++

Getting used to a new weapon was always a complicated process, and Seften had never had ones as fine as the sword and shield that Emarveris gifted to him. They were some of the most impressive weapons he had ever seen. Beautiful, folded steel that glimmered like rippling water. Golden runes engraved down the center of the blade to channel magic. A stunning crystal array set into the back of the shield, ready to channel any spell he cared to cast into it.

They were weapons that the highest nobles only saw maybe once or twice in their lives, and only at a distance. Seften had never even dreamed he would hold such weapons, let alone have them gifted to him.

“Look,” Emar said seriously as he took Seften through the armory to his personal vault. “You’re helping my dearest friend rescue her husband, who I count as the brother I never had. I don’t have any family except them, and you’re Myth’s brother. That makes us kin too, in a way.”

Well when he put it like that…

“I don’t know what to do with all this,” Seften said as Emar showed him the weapons, and handed him the stunning, matched set that now filled his hands. “Not the weapons. I’m a decent hand with them. With falling into a legend like this. With- with everything. With meeting you.”

“I’m a simple man who sometimes forgets his pants when he reads reports. Myth and Aelsrik, well, that part will be harder.”

After that, they were friends. Very, very strange friends.

The full moon was still two days away, so Seften retreated to the training yard on the suggestion of the king. It would, Emar told him, be a good thing to learn how to use his new weapons and to get used to the balance of them. That was always a hard part of a new blade. Even one as fine as this, with balance that felt made for his hand, and exactly the weight he preferred. Emar came with him, a fine swordsman himself, and in need of people who were willing to spar with him.

“I won’t be bothered if you hand me my own backside,” he said as he and Seften traded blows, although it was immediately obvious to Seften that the king was very much his better with a blade. “I spar with Aelsrik after all. You can use your magic if you like. Get used to the enchantments. I’m well-protected against most things.”

“I’m not sure I can control that,” Seften said, cautious of accidentally murdering the High King in front of half his soldiers. They traded a few more blows as Seften settled into the new weapons. He could feel that Emar was going easy on him. Giving him time. He appreciated it, and hitched the shield higher on his arm. It was lighter than he was used to, although that was no surprise. His own weapons were… well, they were serviceable. That was about it. “Better not to, at least not yet.”

“Fair enough. Myth’s been teaching you?”

“A little. I’m not a very good student.”

A few more blows and Seften felt ready to press his luck. He moved forward, careful in the thin sawdust of the salle, as Emar danced backwards smoothly. Both of their blades were blunted of course, as was standard when anyone sparred with live steel. The risk of real injury, beyond bruises, was fairly slight. Emarveris let him press forward a little, still visibly letting him find his feet. As soon as he realized that Seften was serious, he grinned.

“So, you’re not a very good student?” Emar said, barely breathing hard even as Seften came at him with all his skill to help. The deft way Emar handled his own blade was frankly impressive, and it didn’t take long for Emar to disarm him with a particularly pretty twist of his sword. Seften cursed and went for it, but Emar laid the edge of his sword along Seften’s throat before he could take a step. “Yield?”

“Yes,”

“Good. That wasn’t half-bad. get your sword and try it again.”

Their audience had mostly lost interest, but Seften was surprised to turn and see Mithale sitting on a nearby bench, watching them. He grabbed his sword off the ground and stopped by her. “Everything alright?”

“Taking the time to rest while we have it,” she told him and eyed his new weapons. She knew more about blades than she generally let on, and would certainly be able to see the enchantments with ease. “Those are nice. You fighting without magic?”

“I’m worried about causing damage until I know them better.”

It was a genuine concern. Seften didn’t consider himself particularly impressive as a mage, but Mithale assured him that he was as powerful as she was. The implications were more than he particularly liked to think about, but she was a good teacher, and he rarely struggled as she helped him with his magic.

“You can’t hurt Emar,” Mithale told him with a smile. He was still getting used to the sight of her without her illusions up, but that was a problem of his own, and not one that he planned to tell her about. “Aelsrik and I gave him a ring some years ago. While he wears it, even I couldn’t touch him magically. Here, watch.”

To Seften’s utter horror, Mithale swirled her hand through the air. A ward sprang up around their section of the salle, white-blue and impenetrable. Almost in the same moment, she snapped her hand forward and sent a wall of fire, so hot that it curled the hair on Seften’s arms, at the high king.

It was a firestorm that would have leveled a whole troop of men without effort. If Mithale hadn’t shielded the floor as well, it would have left burned glass in its wake, and lit the building ablaze in moments.

Emar gave a yell of surprise when the fire rolled over him, but when it faded, he stood completely unharmed but for a somewhat annoyed expression. The soldiers around them seemed to be rather more alarmed, but he waved them off.

“I told you to stop throwing fire at me without warning me first!” he called, and Mithale only smiled. “You’ll spook my guards.”

“If they spook that easily, you need better guards,” she replied unrepentantly and looked up at Seften. “Go ahead. Emar knows how to spar with a spellsword, and you can’t possibly hurt him.”

“Well,” Seften hesitated, but paused again when Emar raised his sword and tapped the blade on his own, very fine shield. “Are you sure?”

“Go on. He needs the exercise, you need the practice, and I’ll make sure nothing goes astray,” Mithale assured him and waved him back into the ring with Emarveris. “And there’s no one in this world who knows more about what we’re going to face in the next few moons. Let him teach you how to survive when magic isn’t enough.”

+++

Myth and Magic:

A Found Connection (Subscriber Only!)

Train to Spell (Subscriber Only!)

While We Walk

Night Burn

Storming Hell

Blood of a King

Terrace Legends

Fire in the Ring

Battle Scars (New!)

+++

MASTERLIST

[shivering-isles-cryptid]

Assassins Creed: Valhalla OC

I just beat the game, so here’s my OC, Inge Valkrdottir.

I started this over a year ago, and it’s finally finished.

Name: Inge Valkrdottir

Sex: Female

Hair: Inky black, braid on top but loose lower

Eyes: Blue

Loyalty: Ravensthorpe

Occupation: Volva/Shieldmaiden

Spouse: Eivor Vorinsdottir

Preferred weapon: Spear and shield

Custom build: The Valkyrie

Special abilities: Visions, rune reading, connection to the Other Realms

Past life: Skuld the Valkyrie

Favored gods: Freya, goddess of war and magic, and Thor, god of Thunder and Strength.

Backstory: Inge was born the year after the slaughter done by Kjotve the Cruel. When she was born, the town Volva, Svala, sensed her connection to the Other Realms and began her training as soon as possible alongside her own daughter.

As Inge grew older, she began to thirst for adventure and started training in battle craft, without the knowledge of Svala. When Eivor and Sigurd decided to start their own colony, Inge agreed to go with them the second they asked, hungry for an adventure.

While Eivor expanded the town and gained alliances, Inge worked on her own missions. Finding secret locations and artifacts. As she searches, Inge begins to revives visions directly from the Valkyrie Skuld.

Inge continues her search for ancient items, coming across the shield of the Morrigan, bow of Skadi, and hammer of Thor, with Eivor’s help. When Hildiran came to Ravensthorpe, she recognized the Valkyrie soul of Inge and began training her in the ways of Hugrheim.

When Eivor, Inge, and Hildiran opened Odins Vault and Hildiran revealed herself to be a descendant of Hildr, she asked Inge to join her and they could remake the Valkyries in their image. Inge refused, remaining loyal to her acting Jarlskona.

After Hildiran was slain, Eivor allowed Inge to keep the Valkyries armor, and joke that maybe she should remake the order of shield maidens. Eivor then made her her unofficial housecarl. This was when Inge began to realize her feelings for Eivor, but simply ignored them for the time being.

When Eivor pledged to Eurvicscire, Inge joined her. When her and Halfdan met, it was an immediate hatred. When Halfdan asked Eivor to speak alone, he waved Inge away, referring to her as Eivor’s servant. This angered Inge, who refused to leave the room. Eivor told Halfdan that she was her Housecarl.

At being placed at just the Housecarl, the servant and protector, Inge’s heart began to hurt. She continued to ignore it, assisting Eivor with the battle between her and Faravid. When Halfdan was revealed to be poisoned, Inge forgave him for treating her as a peasant. A little.

Inge assisted Eivor in hunting down the Order of the Ancients, collecting the medallions and giving them to Hytham before reporting back to the Wolf-Kissed Jarl. When Hytham gave Inge Thor’s cloak, she decided that she would hunt down the rest of the set and gift them to Eivor as a courting gift, with Mjolnir acting in place of the ancestral sword.

When they went to save Sigurd, Inge slaughtered the opposing men with a fury and bloodlust that Eivor had never seen. The blood dripped off the Valkyries armor, and her spear and shield was stained crimson. The sight was enough for Inge to steal Eivors heart.

After saving Sigurd, Inge and him constantly fought as Inge disliked his treatment of Eivor and Randvi, and Sigurd saw this as her disrespecting her jarl. She left Ravensthorpe, not being able to stand the new Sigurd.

Eivor chased her to the Isle of Skye, where she set up a small hut to grow closer to the gods. Eivor confessed her feeling for Inge, begging her to come back. Seeing the brave and powerful Eivor Wolf-Kissed begging shocked Inge, but she confessed as well and the two spent a night together.

Inge returned to Raventhorpe, spending less time in the long house and more tracking the rest of Thors armor. When she did find the whole set, she presented it to Eivor on the night of Samhain, so that all the gods could watch the proposal. Eivor accepted the proposal and was awestruck at the armor.

When Eivor and Sigurd travel to the World Tree, she follows. When they enter the simulation of Valhalla, Inge takes the form of a Valkyrie and watched as Eivor rejects the illusion as well as Odin. She follows Eivor out of Valhalla but does not reject Skuld, instead she makes a deal with her to share consciousness.

Inge lives the rest of her life with the visions Skuld gives her, training in battle strategies lost to the ages, and drawing armor and weapon schematics not seen by human eye before. She takes the part of spiritual leader of Ravensthorpe, with Valka acting as a guide and advisor to Inge and Eivor.

Eivor and Inge were married on the 3rd day of Yule, with the entire village gasping as Inge revealed Mjolnir to Eivor. The village gasped again as Eivor gave Inge Gungnir. There was a lot of godly items at that wedding, and many of the villagers had a religious reawakening.

The pair adopted a daughter named Idunn, who was orphaned after the death of Faravid. The girl followed Randvi around in order to learn how to be like her and run a settlement. They also had a son named Sigurd, who trained with Eivor to be a warrior.

[thecrazyworldbuilder]

Brainstorming: Materials

Astrum, the starly metal found in fallen stars. It is coming mixed with meteorite iron, so it must be purified through difficult procedures. Pure astrum by custom is enchanted so anyone who touches it doesn't need to breathe for as long as tactile contact continues, and as well, astrum is known to be a legendary material for swords, for "every strike is powered by the kinetic force of a fallen star". It is not indestructible, so even through you can chop trees with it, the blade will shatter if it hits something that is too hard to chew through.

Cloud ice, a special kind of snow that is holding form, doesn't melt for a long time and regenerates through absorbing humidity. Cloud ice is used as a decorative material, and as a working air-cooling conditioner. Manufactured through magic and runes.

Acom crystal, a yellow crystal that protects from mind readers.

Algofite, a silvery stone potent for rune magic. Looks like black marble with cracks of silver webbing.

Antiaurum, or negative gold, is an alchemical material that looks just like normal gold but, once it touches the actual gold, starts a dissolving reaction in which both materials turn into nothing but copper grains and heavy, harmful smoke. Known as a Midas' Demise, it is a dangerous tool that turned entire kingdoms bankrupt from one coin being put in the treasury.

Powdered Raven Hoof, alchemical material made from a rare breed of pegasi or gryphons, a mix between equine and corvine. Is used as a stabilizer of wild magic, and in a Wild Magic Tamer potion that allows mages to control chaos in powerful ways for about 17 minutes.

Balcatite, a black mineral of dense, solidified bad luck.

Cold glass, a special kind of glass created through transmutation rather than smelting sand. Said to be as transparent as air, and giving no reflections.

Meta rock, the pure element of stone - is chemically inert to everything but other pure elements. Used by gnomes as a perfect castle wall building material.

Libidum berries, found in the second circle of hell and having strong aphrodisiac and potency heightening properties. Is invasive, and sometimes gets to the mortal planes as its seeds get carried there on the clothes, hair or skin of demons. Have resemblance of small, red pumpkins with fourfold symmetry.

Heltrock, unique volcanic rocks that are indestructible from all points except one. If hit there, in the focus, the whole rock will violently explode, throwing obsidian-sharp shards everywhere.

Stormbow, a liquid material that glimmers in all colors of the rainbow and gives tempest strength and lightning aura to anyone who consumes it. Found in the rainwater from an eye of the storm, purified and distilled.

Jursa, a drug that replicated itself through contact with unfiltered goat milk. Has relaxing effects and causes fails in visual recognition of objects and people. The addicted can't tell the difference between a spoon and a fork even though they know it, same goes with remotely similar people and objects. Might develop face blindness.

Acanthite - mineral that freezes water on instant, turning it into hard, cold calcite spikes. Used in dungeon traps.

Mageweed, a plant that grows around mage towers, giving non-magic users the effect of tobacco, but seven times stronger. Sometimes used by evil mages to lure people into traps, afterwards using them as experiment subjects. Side effects include curly facial hair and blue spots of skin discoloration.

Bugshroom, grows above buried rusting metals. Upon consumption, gives short-lasting magnetic sense, but upon prolonged repetitive consumption can give the user allergy to glass.

Bankmetal, an alchemical metal made by melting an entire treasury vault door and one golden coin while reading a specific incantation. Bankmetal drives wealth towards itself, and scares off fairies if rubbed with a hand.

Retvam, a material created through fusing bone, iron, marble, glass and oak wood. Looks like cheese, but with texture of tree bark, hard and indestructible by means of common materials and forces, and has an ability to "activate" and radiate life energy. Used in warforged, sometimes as a cloaking device of sorts.

[thealternatewanderingcotabus]

History of Bloodreaver: The Cursed Blade

Creation and First Wielder:

*Bloodreaver* was forged during the Age of Shadows, a dark period in the history of the world when the forces of evil and chaos sought to tip the balance of power in their favor. The blade was crafted by a master blacksmith named Kaldor the Cursed, a man who had long fallen from grace after losing his family to a plague. Driven by grief and a thirst for vengeance against the gods who he believed had abandoned him, Kaldor made a pact with an ancient demon, offering his soul in exchange for the knowledge to forge a weapon of unimaginable power.

In a forbidden ritual, Kaldor used the blood of innocents, blackened abyssal steel, and dark magic to create *Bloodreaver*. The blade was imbued with the essence of the demon, causing the steel to crack and leak blood—the very life essence of the demon’s countless victims. The runes etched into the blade were symbols of binding and suffering, their red glow a reflection of the torment within.

The first to wield *Bloodreaver* was a warlord named Morghul the Reaper, a tyrant who led an army of mercenaries across the land, leaving devastation in his wake. With *Bloodreaver* in hand, Morghul became an unstoppable force, the sword feeding on the blood of his enemies and growing ever more powerful. But the blade’s curse soon took its toll; the more Morghul used it, the more it whispered to him, driving him into a frenzy of bloodlust that eventually turned him against his own men.

Consumed by the blade’s influence, Morghul slaughtered his entire army in a single night, the blood of his soldiers feeding *Bloodreaver* until it dripped with an endless stream of dark, corrupted blood. When the morning sun rose, Morghul was found dead, his lifeless body surrounded by the corpses of his men, the blade still clutched in his hand. The sword was buried with him in an unmarked grave, but its evil could not be contained.

**Resurgence and Notable Bearers:**

Centuries passed, and *Bloodreaver* was forgotten—until grave robbers unearthed Morghul’s tomb. They were drawn to the sword’s sinister aura, but none who touched it survived the night. The blade eventually fell into the hands of a secretive cult known as the Bloodcloaks, who worshipped the demon bound to the sword. They believed that *Bloodreaver* was the key to bringing their dark master into the material plane.

The cult used the sword in blood sacrifices, each one feeding the blade’s hunger and strengthening the demon’s hold on the world. However, the cult’s plans were thwarted by a group of paladins who raided their stronghold and took *Bloodreaver* into custody. Unable to destroy it, the paladins sealed it away in a vault deep beneath a holy temple, guarded by powerful wards designed to keep its evil contained.

Despite their efforts, *Bloodreaver* found a way to escape. The wards weakened over time, and the sword began to whisper to the priests of the temple, sowing seeds of doubt and corruption. One by one, the priests fell to its influence, until a young acolyte, driven mad by the sword’s voice, broke the seal and claimed the blade as his own.

The acolyte, now a dark champion, spread terror across the land, the blade once again tasting the blood it craved. But like all before him, he was eventually consumed by the sword’s curse, his mind shattered by the endless whispers of the souls trapped within the blade. He was defeated by a band of heroes, who sealed *Bloodreaver* within an ancient crypt, hidden in a forgotten corner of the world.

**Modern Era:**

In recent times, *Bloodreaver* has become the stuff of legend, its true location lost to time. Some say it lies buried in the ruins of an ancient city, others believe it is entombed beneath a mountain guarded by spirits. Adventurers and treasure hunters alike seek it, drawn by the promise of power, but none who search for it return.

Rumors persist that *Bloodreaver* has resurfaced, its cursed influence once again spreading across the land. Whispers speak of a warrior, clad in dark armor, wielding a sword that drips with the blood of his foes. Whether this is truth or merely a tale to frighten children is unknown, but those who know the history of *Bloodreaver* understand that wherever it is, the blade waits patiently, eager to taste blood once more.

[abominationvault]

Session 42: Sat 6 Jul 2024

We’ve all levelled up, even Hartvig, yay! Brief pause while Skabb levels up Grabby Cat. All the parents in the group have been negotiating today with their various offspring, whether over ice cream or bedtimes. Not sure who won. Chips off their various blocks; so proud.

Jorg’ath is annoyed to find out that armour runes don’t stack; Skabb asks for his spare one, but is emphatically denied. Then he notices that she is wearing the cloak of his sworn enemy, Joto’hiir, and offers her the rune. After a lot of fucking about, we do a recap of the bar fight for those who weren’t there, and then the week before. We found that there was a blacksmith who was up to no good, and had gone to a hideout outside town. Yinyasmera apparently told him not to take this course of action, but she was ignored. We need to find artefacts of the Rose Guard to put on the altar we found, possibly to unlock the next level down in the vaults. The sword! We think the blacksmith has the sword. The DM confirms. Also there was a brooch in the Menhemes manor house, possibly, and a spellbook, which is in the bookshop we caused havoc in that one time. Skabb has Otari’s thieves’ tools. The blacksmith is in the Smuggler’s Refuge, outside town. Yeah! Recap! Remembering things!

We decide to go to Morlibint’s first, the bookshop. Sadly, the party member who had the most interaction with him was Joto, who has left us.

Fortunately Jorg’ath decides to take the exact same course of action as Joto did, and suggests flirting with him. Well, we’ll keep that one in our back pocket maybe. Sprocket has a good Diplomacy score, so we push him to the front. Jorg’ath and Skabb put hands over each other’s mouths so they don’t ruin anything.

There was graffiti last time, Sprocket thinks we should clean it up to maybe assist our persuasion rolls, but it’s gone when we arrive. The book is not a family heirloom to Morlibint, but he has it in his shop and has studied it. We decide to go diplomacy first and if that fails, we’ll send in the cat. Sprocket goes in, accompanied by Hartvig who is also quite good at diplomacy. Augustus waits outside with us, doing his idle animation. Hartvig pops Sprocket on the counter and they have a +1 bonus to persuasion.

“Hey Morlibint, I’m in the market for a particular kinda book here.” Danny Glover. Sprocket says we might want to borrow it, rather than buy it, but we need it for the good of the town. He waddles closer and beckons Morlibint. “We don’t want to alert Velcro to our plans, so it’s kind of hush hush. We’ve destroyed Bollock, but we need your help to end the threat plaguing Otari. We need a book from the wizard of the Rose Guard, we believe you’re in possession of said book.”

He does indeed have it, but why do we need it?

Sprocket explains about needing various items from the Rose Guard adventurers in order to close down the lighthouse and best Velcro’s evil plot. We need the items to open a door.

The book is immensely valuable; are we capable of taking care of it? He doesn’t want it damaged or ruined. Sprocket points out that we’ve brought him many a book. True, but Morlibint doesn’t want this priceless book rattling around inside Augustus. Sprocket assures him it’s clean in there.

Hartvig makes a Persuasion check (“Yeah!” he pipes up), a 19, giving Sprocket a +2. Sprocket rolls a 20 for a 22 total. Morlibint fetches the book and tells him to take very good care of it.

Sprocket looks at the book, then at Hartvig, then at his own hands, then at the book; Hartvig picks up the book and thanks the wizard. Sprocket tells him that his kindness will not be forgotten.

Brooch next? We pop on over to the museum of Oseph Menhemes:

Skabb, Sprocket and Jorg’ath squabble about how we should go about this as we walk to the manor. Jorg’ath announces that if he has to kill the mayor, then he gets to become the new mayor.

Sprocket is reminded that he was studying the other books he found; has he made any progress? Not yet, he is told. Even with Augustus’ help, as he makes an excellent lectern. It’s one of their bonding exercises; it’s precious, Sprocket tells us. (“Hartvig is Sickened 1,” Hartvig announces.)

We decide to go in and do the tour, see what we’re dealing with. Oseph is cross with the goblin, so she should probably hang back. Was there anyone he particularly didn’t mind dealing with? Really anyone but Skabb, unless we are showing him how she has grown as a person. Sprocket tells her to wipe her damn feet; she does so on Sprocket.

Let’s just rock on up and ask for the thing. What’s the plan? Appeal to his sense of civic duty. Surely that will help him get re-elected. It works - he gives us the brooch without even a check!

Skabb wants to do some kind of Insight check. Is the mayor up to anything nefarious? Nope! And we can have the brooch for as long as we need.

Right, let’s go and get this blacksmith. The words ‘torture’ and ‘tenderise his meat’ are floated quite early on in the planning. We decide to keep that one on the back burner for just in case.

New map! We approach a cave entrance, and the DM goes for coffee. Did we rest, after the bar fight…? We’ll ask the DM when he gets back. Yes, we did, nice.

What did Yinyasmera tell Skabb about the blacksmith? And can Jorg’ath inspect the campfire to see how recently it was used, and can Luna have stashed some of her stuff in the chest at Wrinn’s? Yes and yes to the last two. The DM rolls a lot of Stealth checks and a survival check for us.

Jorg’ath picks through the ashes; it hasn’t been lit for some time, and it’s rained at least once since then. He smells smoke, but it is coming from a different fire. He thinks that the last people to sit here were probably kids from the town. Are there cans of Ye Olde Special Brew hanging about?

We all follow Luna, who must be terribly tired of this by now. She goes first - and smells smoke. She sees a lot of debris that suggests it’s often used but rarely cleaned. The smoke smell is from further in; someone has been here recently. She thinks she should scout ahead, and gets a Hero Point for tactics. She presses up against the cave wall and creeps around to see what she can see.

A campfire, surrounded by logs, and sitting on a makeshift bed is Carman Rajani, the blacksmith:

What can she notice about him? Critical success - he looks nervous. He is giving no sign that he knows we’re here, but he keeps glancing at the cave entrance. She also spots a suspicious looking bundle under the bed he’s sitting on. He is alone. She creeps back out to the rest of us.

Was there another way out of the cave? Luna didn’t see one, but she says there still might be. She could sneak around the back and block off anything down that way. Jorg’ath will stand here in case he makes a break for it this way.

We don’t know why he stole the sword. Perhaps someone else is coming after it; we should be careful how we approach him. What if he’s just a frightened little boy? If we need to distract him, Skabb could sing her Goblin Song, which will affect his Will saves. Nadia has the Charm spell now, can she use that? She can go in carrying Sprocket; she pulls her top down a bit as she goes. Luna goes in first sneaking.

Luna spots something suspicious about the wall behind Carman; that was a DC 28. Aside from that, no other visible exits. She also notices that Carman doesn’t even glance at the wall; perhaps he doesn’t know it’s there.

As Nadia approaches carrying Sprocket, she busts out her best (terrible) Southern Belle: “It’s me, Nadia, honey!” She casts Charm on him. “Don’t tell me you don’t remember lil ol me!” He rolls a crit fail against the spell, and Nadia holds up Sprocket. “My doll friend here needs a favour, would you hear him out?”

What do we want, Carman asks? Sprocket thinks Nadia should do the talking, as she cast the spell. Nadia, not good at Diplomacy, takes a deep breath and continues with the Scarlet O'Hara:

“Well, you know that lil ol' sword you stole? We gon’ need to borrow it, sugar. We'll bring it back."

She hikes up her tits and flutters her eyelashes and rolls Diplomacy with +1 for Sprocket’s help and +4 for tits (Charm). He gives her the sword but says he didn’t steal it, it belongs to his family. It’s his by rights. Wait, didn’t we promise to return the sword to the temple?

The rest of the party pile in. Skabb wants to know if someone’s after him. Aren’t we the heroes of Otari, Carman asks? Aren’t we angry about the arson in the library, and him stealing the sword?

Upon hearing that he set fire to the books, Skabb runs over and hugs him. “We could be really good friends! You hates wordses too?” We’re heroes, not police, she tells him. We're not here to arrest him.

Well, he will wait here. He knows where to look for us if we don’t come back. (Yes, we'll be dying in the dungeon.)

Luna wants to do an Insight check. Nadia has the Lie to Me Feat - but she only rolls an 11. Skabb and Luna are both convinced he’s telling us the truth, the DM tells us after some secret checks.

We are concerned that Yinyasmera might come after him, and get to him before we get back. What if we put him in the secret room in here?

Both Skabb and Nadia try to distract him from Luna looking for the secret door, but he is not to be distracted. Luna finds a definite line, but she sees no method to open it from this side. Carman says this cave used to be used for smuggling and there are tales of people emerging from it, but he has been coming here since he was a kid and has found no secret passageways.

Can we tell what might be roughly on the other side of this? Nope. More cave, probably.

Did we tell him about Yinyasmera? Yeah, Skabb thinks we should. He tells us not to sweat it. He knows she wouldn’t have told us where he was if she wanted bad things to happen to him.

We go back to the Vaults. We each approach with the artefacts - Skabb with the thieves’ tools, Augustus with the book, Hartvig with the brooch, and Nadia with the sword. Can we quicksave…? We count to three and slap them into their various divots.

The barrier comes down! Hartvig is suddenly overcome with a sense of dread, stronger than his baseline level of dread… He has a feeling something might have been unleashed.

We move south, while having a discussion about Jorg’ath’s tail, re. the circumstances in which it is appropriate to cut it off him, ie. never.

New map!

Crumbing staircase leads to a tile floored room, and a pit, with a spiral staircase around the inside of it. Sulphur wafts up from below. Also some spooky moaning. Luna: “How’s that dread, Hartvig?”

Luna hears a faint gibbering noise - she’s heard it before, but this time it’s not manic but calm. Jorg’ath sees a puddle of something… It’s like a puddle of sleeping gum, with eyes and mouths…

Skabb sends Grabby to have a little peep. She sees three doors, the gibbering mouther, and that’s it. We could sneak around without waking it, maybe. Grabby listens at the doors; nothing, but she hears something big, lumbering down the stairs below.

We decide to surprise attack the gibbering mouther. Nadia screws a silencer onto Alkonost, and Jorg’ath screws a silencer onto his greatsword.

Luna Putrid Cat goes first! Can she put an arrow in it from where she’s standing? Yup! Flight of the Valkyries, and a Crit! Her damage seems low; brief pause while the DM figures out why roll20 isn’t adding her ability modifiers. It should add a Deadly d10 as well, and she has some kind of trickery thing too? Maths and button clicking, and “Hmmm”, and the DM decides she can roll a d10 manually. 24 damage! (She did more too, because she has a +1 rune on her bow - 40 damage total, woah!)

“That’s my first attack.” 11 misses, as does 9.

Hartvig moves to see the Mouther, “Eurgh mouths!” and Needle Darts but misses. Hero Point, “that’s even worse…”

Nadia hits for 1 damage with a silenced Alkonost, her other attack with her crossbow misses.

Jorg’ath runs up and takes a swing with his greatsword - 29 hits for 12 slashing damage. 15 misses, and that’s him.

Skabber runs up, bites it with her Grill of Aberration Bane, and runs away - 12 is a crit fail so she Hero Points for 13. “Jeezus.” Her grill falls out, she gums it a bit, grabs it and runs away. (She needs to get Flashbang to fix her wand. Nadia might be able to do it…? No, she only has Alchemical crafting, not magical. Skabb: “I’m demoting you to just ‘tits’.” Nadia: “That’s fair.”)

Augustus will give the mouther a punchin’ - 31 hits for 5 bludgeoning and 2 electric damage.

Now that it’s been beaten, severely, its gibbering will be a normal volume. Now we all have to start our turns with a DC23 Will save or be confused for a round. If we succeed, we are immune for 1 minute. It moves to between Nadia and Jorg’ath, and tries to engulf Jorg’ath on the way…

He gets a Reflex save, DC26. Oh wait, he’s a Large (and in charge) creature and it’s medium - isn’t he? No, technically, Jorg’ath is only a Dorothy Perkins medium - he’d be a large anywhere else though. (Skabb wins a Hero Point for the analogy.) He makes his save and is only shoved out of the way. It sends out some of its mouths to bite Nadia, and it’s a crit - it takes her to 4 hp in one shot, and she will take 3 bleed damage at the top of her turn…

Luna’s turn, so she moves to shoot. Can she flank from a distance…? Yes! 26 hits with the bonus from flanking, and she does 27 damage! 18 and 17 miss. (The DM forgets the Will save so she’s exempt.)

Hartvig flips through his cool new spells. He does a Will save - 20 is a fail, so he is confused. He attacks wildly with his unarmed fists, striking out at Nadia but he misses. Second attack aimed at the mouther but misses, then Nadia but he rolls a -6 to hit her. Phew!

Nadia makes her Will save with a Hero Point, is immune to confusion, slams a potion, recalls Alkonost and stabs the mouther. She misses, but that’s okay. She’s at 12 hp now.

Jorg’ath makes his save, and Rages. 31 to hit! 7 slashing and 2 acid, and then misses his next attack. His attack puts the mouther off balance - it is flat footed until the start of his next turn! He Hero Points his second attack, in light of the weapon specialisation effect. 22! It’s just a miss. “Aw, son of a gun!”

Skabb’s turn - wait, Jorg'ath realises that the mouther is flanked with Luna as well! oh, it just makes him flat footed too, and it doesn’t stack. Dammit. Skabb. She misses with her sling, She casts Slashing Gust, but only rolls a 14. Roll20 isn’t adding her Intelligence modifier either. Hmm. It only makes it an 18, so it still misses.

Sprocketses. He’s got so many things to try! He will rolls his Will save, 31 and is immune (DM forgot again so Skabb is exempt), Augustus fails his save, however. He’s only within range of the mouther, Hartvig points out (winning himself a Hero Point), so he can only target that in his confusion. Sprocket casts Phase Bolt, but it misses.

The mouther spits at Sprocket, 24 hits for 21 acid damage. “Ahhhhh,” he says, calmly. It burns his eyes, forcing a Fortitude save - Sprocket fails and is Dazzled. “I’ll click the button,” he says glumly.

The mouther bites Jorg’ath - 21 misses, and an 18 for Augustus which misses. Nice!

Kill it, Luna! 21 to hit, a miss even though it’s flat footed. 13 and 8 also miss.

Hartvig is no longer confused, so he looks for the button to un-click it. “Hold on. Hold on!” It’s made entirely of flesh, isn’t it, this thing? Is he going to Flense it?? Yes, and he can Heighten it now that he’s levelled up! We all cheer our encouragement. 20 misses, but he can use his Hero Point - also a 20. “Did it hit that time?” One day he’ll Flense something. He moves behind Augustus.

Nadia has blood in her eyes, so all her desperate stabs with her bayonet miss.

Can Jorg’ath do Battle Medicine on Nadia? Hell yeah! He grabs a plaster from his bag and slaps it on her for 6hp back; she is immune to his battle medicine for a day now. He hits the mouther, and it bites him back as a reaction - wait what? Jorg’ath rejects that. Fuck, that might be a critical - it is. He takes 56 damage, woof. He’s down to his last 30 or so hit points. 27 to hit the mouther, 14 damage, and it’s still up. Fuck.

Skabb. Now that she knows it can take all her hit points as a reaction, that might change things - no, it can only react once per round, and the Reactive Gnaw is only in response to Slashing damage anyway. She hits with her Grill for 15 damage! It’s looking ropey. Crit for her second attack for 16 more - and 12 for the aberration bane and howdy doodis!

She goes into a feeding frenzy, crunching up teeth, slurping up milky eyeballs, and it’s splashing everywhere so anyone within melee is covered in bits of Gibbering Mouther! ... Yay...?

(Sprocket likes to think we have all been screaming battle cries under our breath and shushing each other so as not to disturb whatever’s below.)

Hartvig does some healing, and Sprocket does some Risky Surgery on Jorg’ath. We do checks, and both shake off the persistent bleeding.

Risky Surgery does 1 slashing damage, “I’m dazzled, motherfucker! Where’d you go?” and crits the healing check! He is Expert 9, so he can heal him 4d8+10 - 24!

Hartvig Heals Nadia, and Skabb does Jorg’ath most of the rest of the way.

As we sit around healing each other, we hear whatever it is lumbering down there getting closer, and then further away; it seems to be on the stairs. Nadia should make some bombs to throw at it, if we get a rest.

[albatrosstoss]

UPDATE (FUCKERS)

Jund Summer has failed. Long live Deadguy Ale - Canadian Highlander edition.

That’s right, I got a Canadian Highlander League going, and here’s the basic list we’re running, which is heavily inspired by the classic Legacy midrange deck Deadguy Ale. Our point total is eight (Mox Pearl, Mox Jet, Strip Mine).

LANDS (37x):

8x Swamp

8x Plains

1x Karakas

1x Emeria, the Sky Ruin

1x Eiganjo, Seat of the Empire

1x Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth

1x Bojuka Bog

1x Takenuma, Abandoned Mire

1x Isolated Chapel

1x Concealed Courtyard

1x Shadowy Backstreet

1x Godless Shrine

1x Caves of Koilos

1x Tainted Field

1x Shattered Sanctum

1x Brightclimb Pathway//Grimclimb Pathway

1x Silent Clearing

1x Vault of the Archangel

1x Strip Mine

1x Wasteland

1x Rishadan Port

1x Maze of Ith

1x Glacial Chasm

This is the average, run-of-the-mill Deadguy Ale landbase; we got black lands, white lands, and a good mix of utility lands. I think the two most exciting are Rishadan Port and Maze of Ith - both contribute to classic Ale strategies, and both allow me to control what and how my opponent plays.

CREATURES (27x):

1x Esper Sentinel

1x Mother of Runes

1x Giver of Runes

1x Knight of the Ebon Legion

1x Cabal Therapist

1x Thalia, Guardian of Thraben

1x Spirit of the Labyrinth

1x Stoneforge Mystic

1x Dauthi Voidwalker

1x Kitesail Freebooter

1x Tourach, Dread Cantor

1x Dark Confidant

1x Caustic Bronco

1x Orcish Bowmasters

1x Tidehollow Sculler

1x Graveyard Trespasser

1x Opposition Agent

1x Liliana, Heretical Healer//Liliana, Defiant Necromancer

1x Anointed Peacekeeper

1x Archon of Emeria

1x Thalia, Heretic Cathar

1x Sin Collector

1x Kambal, Consul of Allocation

1x Kambal, Profiteering Mayor

1x Kunoros, Hound of Athreos

1x Athreos, God of Passage

1x Grief

1x Solitude

We’ve got a pretty great suite of creatures here that largely follows the usual Death and Taxes model, with the exception of cards like Tidehollow Sculler (Scully) and Cabal Therapist (Mulder). These hand disruption creatures are what gives Deadguy Ale its special, secret spice - it functions like an 8Rack deck, making our opponents discard and controlling what they have in their hands is vital to meeting the decks winning conditions.

Sub-note A.) Liliana, Heretical Healer lets us play a planeswalker that doesn’t get taxed by Thalia.

Sub-note B.) We’re also playing both evoke elementals in our colors - value is value, and a scam is a scam!

ARTIFACTS (6x):

1x Mox Jet

1x Mox Pearl

1x Aether Vial

1x Lost Jitte

1x Umezawa’s Jitte

1x Batterskull

This is where most of our points come in: the Moxen. Quick, dirty, easy mana. Plus some back up value in the Swords and Skull - mostly things for Stoneforge to tutor up.

Aether Vial is for instant speed Scullys or Mulders; flashing one of those bad boys in after our opponent’s draw step is devastating.

ENCHANTMENTS (3x):

1x Bitterblossom

1x Restoration of Eiganjo

1x Phyrexian Arena

Not too surprising enchantment wise - I like the play pattern Restoration of Eiganjo or Bitterblossom and Cabal Therapist offer me!

INSTANTS (14x):

1x Surge of Salvation

1x Silence

1x Swords to Plowshares

1x March of Otherworldy Light

1x Fatal Push

1x Not Dead After All

1x Undying Malice

1x March of Wretched Sorrow

1x Fracture

1x Vanishing Verse

1x Despark

1x Anguished Unmaking

1x Kaya’s Guile

1x Abstruse Appropriation

We’re playing a lot of instants - maybe too many, considering Thalia, but most of these solve for a lot of the biggest threats in my local meta; including that bastard True-Name Nemesis!

We’re playing the two revival effects to do an evoke scam (hopefully), and the marches to clear dead cards from our hand. Cards like Fracture and Despark hit annoying stuff like The One Ring, too!!

SORCERIES (12x):

1x Oust

1x Declaration in Stone

1x Sevinne’s Reclamation

1x Thoughtseize

1x Inquistion of Kozilek

1x Duress

1x Soul Search

1x Castigate

1x Humiliate

1x Gerrard’s Verdict

1x Vindicate

1x Legions to Ashes

Finally, the thing that really hoses Deadguy Ale is token strategies and weenie decks. If I don’t know what to target in the hand, the battlefield can quickly grow out of control. Cards like Castigate and Thoughtseize help look at the hand, and cards like Legions to Ashes clean up anybody who gets by!

Sevinne’s Reclamation is a great spell for bringing back creatures in our graveyards - essentially a 3-for-2 deal!

[your-good-pal-chevy]

Swordtember : 9 : Crystal

There came a deep thrumming from the Vaults of Karradon. As the city outside burned, something stirred within those depths. Something old and ancient awoken by the sounds of terror and despair, drifting in from above.

Within the Vaults of the old King Karradon, there was of course a great treasure hoard. Dwarfs, ever in love with the glimmer of gold, had constructed the Vaults to hold the most prized treasures of their entire nation. At once bank and museum, it was filled to the brim with forgotten relics of ages past.

On any normal day, the Vaults would be filled with visitors, come to gaze upon the works of long dead masters of every craft. Old and young, citizen and foreigner, Dwarfs of every kind would make the pilgrimage to venerate the legacy of their forebears.

This was no ordinary day. One among their kin, from some distant hold, had succumbed to Fafnir's Hunger. A Dwarf by the name of Odovakr, once an esteemed jeweler, had slain his own brother over a financial dispute. Possessed by the curse of Dwarfkind, he was no longer kin to any, and he locked himself away for many days, with only his brother's corpse for sustenance.

In those blackened rooms, we can only imagine what must have took place. The snapping of bone, the stretching of skin, the twisting of muscle and sinew as a new shape was made. Odovakr must have screamed horribly, his clothes tearing around his body as he grew and grew and grew, becoming something truly horrible.

What emerged was no longer Odovakr. It named itself Azgo, the Ashen One, and may all good Dwarfs spit upon this name. Clad in luminous scales like the many jewels it had worked in its Dwarf life, it shone like a rainbow as it tore through the walls of its once-home and took to the skies.

Now, it descended upon Karradon's Town, having doubled in size since its birth, now looking for a hole to build its wretched bower in. The Dwarfs of Karradon's Town were ill prepared for the winged menace, descending upon them with its scales of crystal and the iridescent flame of its hot breath.

But Karradon was a canny lord, and he had prepared many things for the future. As wailing survivors huddled within the Vaults, hiding among the axes and statues and carvings of the ancients, that deep thrumming came in reply to their grief.

Within the deepest reaches of the Vaults, half-buried in coins of every age and metal, there was another Crystal. A giant blue stone, rough cut and dully translucent, there within it was a near formless shape. A mere shadow, a shadow of the past.

The sounds of Dwarf death stirred the thing within that great stone. The thing inside it took shape, the crystal humming with power. It pulsed like a heartbeat, sending its low tone through the stones under Karradon's Town.

Above, the fell Azgo did lay ruin upon the fighting Dwarfs of Karradon's Town. Axe and spear and sword were all turned aside by its glittering scales. Neither steel nor flesh nor even masoned stone could stand where the many colors of its breath did blow. It reveled in the bloodshed, scarcely bothering to defend itself as it gorged itself on burnt Dwarf flesh.

And then, with a great thunderous crack, a rift formed beneath it in the earth. There was another crack, as if two stones had been struck together, and Azgo was sent flying. The beast tumbled in the air, head over its four heels, before managing to right itself upon its great wings.

There, one crystalline foot on either side of the cleft it had sprung up through, stood the shape of a Dwarf. But it was not a Dwarf.

Giant, rough cut, and dully translucent. It stood as high as the buildings, glowing runes lining its crystalline body. It clenched its stone fists, two shining blue lights glaring up at Fafnir's spawn. There are no words for the type of rage such a being could feel, no way to express the sheer depth of its vengeful hatred. It was driven by one thing and one thing alone:

Azgo, the Ashen One, had burned its city. It would avenge this.

The crystalline guardian raised its fists, smashing them together, and pulling them apart as a shining blue blade grew between them. It pointed with the blade, challenging Azgo to face it.

Azgo, driven by Fafnir's Hunger, could not abide such a challenge. It roared its defiance and dove, spewing iridescent flames as it approached the ground.

There was another titanic clash. Another crack to shake the earth. Another gout of rainbow fire, to make all the others seem as mere candles.

And then all fell silent.

[cassidieatgw2]

Secret's of the Obscure afterthoughts pt. 1

Okay, after playing the story on my main, and starting on another character, going all over the maps and some achievments, reading opinions and rants and whatso, I guess I have my head full and ready to spill here everything.

So, if you want, bear with me, heavy spoilers ahead below cut. For anyone not wanting spoilers and/or just wanting a preliminary, yes, I liked the new expansion, story and map wise, some things didn't sit well enough, however overall I enjoyed it. Part one because I found out tumblr has a word limit.

First, I wished so much to have a gun as a necromancer but maintaining my adored reaper shroud (a gun and a scythe, amirite?), so this new mechanic of combining all weapons with whatever specialization you want is a blessing. Thanks so much. Not exactly thrilled, though, with the new necromancer weapon being the sword... feels bland, but maybe just me because my line of thought was gun > bigger gun, aka riffle. Also, forever mad that Ranger is going to get mace and not a riffle. Are you joking? The Ranger/Hunter still isn't able to get a riffle? I think it's so stupid riffle going to mesmer... with my adored pistol reaper and elementalist also getting pistol, and the expansion being on wizard theme, I have been laughing hard at the notion "pistol wizard". That's the it.

Goodbye dailies. At first I was angry at that, there goes my chest of loyalty with clovers and 2% more gold and ascended materials, not to speak of 10 achiev points, BUT... after tweaking a bit with the Wizard's Vault, the daily still rewards 10 points, and can be customizable to just pve (phew!), it remains relatively easy, we can grind a bit to buy clovers and 1% gold, along with skins and ascended chests, so I guess it's not that bad after all? At least to me it's still playable.

The relics. I'm not saying it's bad, I'm just saying I have yet to find someone fully happy with them. To me, I've lost my biggest asset, that was the final ability of runes of vampirism, that saved my ass a little too many times (and as far as I now there is still no vampiric relic, might be added later, but after looking at what they did to reaper relic I'm no longer confident they won't muck it up). My asura mechanist also lost is long time golem helper, please bring the stolen Inquest golem back! Please! He's so lonely now! I know Viol still has a customized jade mech, and a mini golem that just follows around, but... he NEEDS his golems, how could you!? I'm still fiddling to find the relics I like, but so far... not a fan.

I LOVE THE SOUNDTRACK! 10/10.

I also like the new maps. And the overall aesthetic of all.

Not a big fan of the rift hunter armor, don't dislike it totally but don't like it either. I like the Astral Ward one better, though it is still too much "dress" like. If the legendary is like the concepts they showed us, I have big expectations for it, please be unisex, I need pretty big colared shirts and pants for my human avatar. Also, would like to see more female based non-binary characters, because that is what Cassidie is.

I defend the boob slider only if in it there is the setting to make boobs not existant. Dears, I would do that in real life.

[teamcapwasrightandishouldsayit]

YES THANKS I'M GOING TO TALK ABOUT THAT FOR SEVERAL PARAGRAPHS NEVERMIND I THINK THIS IS LONG ENOUGH TO BE CONSIDERED A FIC NOW

so like hear me out. etienne is rescued from the thalmor by the dragonborn (who is ralof but that's not important) and goes back to riften. and everyone is PROTECTIVE. they are SO protective of him now. and he gets it, because he's still a little scared and a little jumpy and a little in pain, but- it's a little TOO protective. brynjolf will barely let him out of the cistern. delvin seems to agree with this decision wholeheartedly. vex is always tailing him.

but then vex doesn't tail him, because she went to goldenglow and barely escaped with her life. and etienne listens to the whole story, and thinks, i could do that.

because etienne is small. etienne is sneaky. etienne loves to steal, he loves to thieve, and divines damn it etienne is tired of being underestimated.

and etienne rarnis slips out of the cistern in the middle of the night and is back by morning, soaking wet, with a bill of sale in his hand and not a single witness to his crime.

brynjolf nearly has a heart attack. mercer is... impressed. yes. not at all scheming. he's impressed.

so he sends etienne to meet maven. brynjolf nearly has another heart attack.

maven sends him to poison a meadery. easy enough, brynjolf thinks, and at least allows him this.

so there was this madman with a rat army beneath the meadery, etienne says, and brynjolf can feel himself going gray.

and then mercer sends etienne to solitude. it's far away. it's very close to the thalmor embassy. nobody is okay with this, but etienne goes, because he can do this. the guild members are starting to compliment him again, instead of making worried comments about his health. they're less scared. he can do this.

unlike some hypothetical player character, etienne recognizes the name karliah, and he rushes back to riften as fast as he can.

we have to confront her, mercer says, you and me, and etienne is terrified but he's determined, because if he can do this then nobody will ever treat him like he's made of glass ever again.

brynjolf disagrees. brynjolf is about ready to strangle mercer. vex says it's too dangerous, someone else should do it. delvin says this isn't even a thieving mission, they should be sending a mercenary, not a kid. sapphire says she'll go instead. rune says he'll go with them. vekel says please, etienne, just don't go.

etienne goes anyway. just him and... mercer fray.

aaand the poison arrow in him. and then the painful betrayal, the painful truth.

the painful stab wound.

i'll give brynjolf your regards.

(brynjolf isn't the only one devasted by the news. it's like the guild has frozen over. everyone's quiet. reserved. why did he go? they can't lose him again.)

but they did lose him again. and mercer empties the vault and escapes, as planned.

meanwhile, karliah and this very scared kid she's decided is now her son are trekking to winterhold to meet with enthir.

etienne is mostly quiet until they actually reach winterhold. his life is a LIE. his boss KILLED gallus! mercer lied to the guild! his family is in danger!

but they can't translate that journal any faster, so etienne goes to markarth and slips though calcelmo's lab, and sprints past the guards, and makes it out of markarth and back to winterhold in record time to translate the journal and learn the truth.

and there is a lot of truth.

etienne thinks the nightingales sound very cool. karliah gives him gallus' sword, which he holds like a priceless treasure (etienne has been hearing tales of gallus' greatness, mostly from brynjolf, for a long time) and goes home.

to riften.

you better have a good reason to be here with that murderer, says brynjolf, but he doesn't draw his sword, because he could never draw his sword. because that is his kid, that's etienne, and etienne is alive and safe and home, again, and brynjolf will do anything to keep it that way.

including breaking into riftweald manor. this one- this time- he's not sending the kid. this time brynjolf does it his own damn self. and etienne and karliah get a few hours to relax, safe and home and with a lot of weepy hugs, mostly for brynjolf. karliah gets a couple of arms put around her in comfort.

brynjolf comes back with the plans and karliah brings them both to nightingale hall, because she already gave etienne the blade and because they'll be great at it.

nocturnal accepts her new devotees, etienne and brynjolf are briefed on the skeleton key, and they go after mercer frey.

sneaking through irkingthand is easy, especially in nightingale armour. getting the drop on mercer? impossible.

and mercer casts nightingale subterfuge on brynjolf, leaving him to fight karliah, and leaving them to helplessly watch as etienne fights mercer frey alone.

mercer thinks it will be easy. karliah and brynjolf fear the same.

but here's the thing about etienne rarnis.

he is small

and sneaky

and easy to underestimate.

after grabbing the skeleton key off of mercer's corpse, the group briefly think they're going to drown, at which point brynjolf tells etienne he is so, so incredibly proud of him, and lad, if we survive this, please never do anything reckless ever again.

they do survive, but etienne has one more reckless thing to do first. karliah gives him her bow, because she's not going with him, and then etienne gives her sad puppy eyes and brynjolf stares at her and she folds like wet paper and they go together.

there is a gallus and karliah reunion, right at the entrance to the sepulcher. etienne finds some random skeleton and reads its convenient journal.

and after two nightingales slip through the shadows all the way to the conduit, they reinsert the skeleton key, etienne meets a daedric prince in person, and gets his nightingale power. stealth.

and then he goes home.

brynjolf is made guildmaster, and he complains a lot but he's good at it. karliah moves back in to the cistern, and she complains a lot but has never felt better. etienne is coddled mercilessly by his entire guild, his whole family, and he complains a lot- but he's happy. everyone can tell that he's happy. he's home.

and they're all so, so proud of him.

ETIENNE SHOULD BE THE PROTAGONIST OF THE THIEVES GUILD QUESTLINE THATS 100% CORRECT

[the-astralalchemist]

Hi! I really love the Guda Ruler post you made and was wondering if you'd expand on Caster Guda or another class?

hello hun!! hehe thank you :D funny story, i went through my tag looking for old posts for reference and was surprised bc i swore i wrote a lot more servant guda than i had ... turns out, they were in the drafts. i have set one such free here from the vault with calvary classes + avenger guda in a holy grail war :D

but i wanted to do more!! i did this one close to the style of my ruler guda headacanons! here’s ur assorted caster guda hcs [soon to be x-posted to my ao3]

general

as stated previously, caster guda is the incarnation most hostile towards the haughty mage types. if they were summoned by say, a darnic prestone or a shinji matou type, caster will actively make it hard for them.

they're more snarky than outright insubordinate like berserker guda.

"you never told me to 'go after' saber, only to 'look' for her."

and make no mistake, they can summon a sword before the word faker leaves your lips.

caster guda is like a unicorn who appears only to the pure of heart lol

with the right master, they will fight and fight and fight for their master’s happiness.

caster guda is one of those casters that are bad at being a caster. 

(they are trying their best though)

being an unconventional caster, they don’t need a large workshop nor do they really know what to do with it.

"medea said something about… gah, what was it? … screw it! this will do!"

fighting style + abilities

at chaldea, guda was surrounded by mystics and mages from all points of time. their bonds are everything, they seep into the foundation of caster’s craft.

a jack of all trades, they use a self-styled patchwork magecraft. ancient egyptian protection spells, runes, japanese curse arts...

they are majorly influenced by archer emiya because they were taught primarily by him.

as a caster class, their abilities are greatly enhanced. their projection skill is rank B as well as possessing the item construction B+ skill. 

caster's proficiency in projection is leagues ahead compared to rider class guda (w/ item construction [projection] D skill) - rider guda can project handguns albeit they fall apart after one shot… but that’s a story for another day

when it comes to the usage of projection magecraft, they use weapons of the servants they had contracts with.

frequently used are arash’s bow, bedivere’s sword, and jaguar’s jaguar paw club. in the right circumstance this strategy can mask their class identity.

caster guda’s noble phantasm is sealed, it is ars exitio daemoniorum or, the art of destroying demons. 

if that name sounds familiar, well… guda took a lot more from “him” than his life, more than they could have known, but that is a story for another day.

[dogboy-flash]

are you a "the boss hit us with a curse to only speak in song are you fucking kidding me i hope it dont last long maybe this thing can stop it dude flick that is a bong the boss has gone petrified ive seen this all before hes trapped in his own mind cant control curses no more youll have to go inside its just like challenge four god what is this now i have a big plow were getting hit with a curse storm i am the magical banana now i am just an ornana yes im back to my fursona am i that dumb bitch from persona how many times have we killed dogma guys im being pulled into the sun augh i think the storms over for now flick you gotta do something sure when i went into runes mind i used this here shrink ray it worked wonders last time so ill use it here today i just grew up thrice my size much to my dismay radmar surely you have a device to help with this i did but it got sucked up by that pc vortex biz maybe one of his curses will get us out of this i must naenae made you birthday cake its not his birthday thanks rdj i am yassified what a motherfucker gotta do for a high five hey guys my name is mindy xd still sunbound and its getting windy dodging all of these explosions your next curse is to be a fusion and just like that i found a way inside of runesters brain when youre fused together your thoughts are all the same so ive won this challenge and im farther in the game" kinda person or a "storage is back the timewarping crate youre the host with the most but you cant get a date so desperate for love you asked everyone out and then got it with somebody that you once hated youre rune but you never spit no ciphers goes to show youre nothing but a shit no lifer when people smoke weed you narc and call the cops youre tempos more jank than my fucking hitbox youre a dumbass and you suck so much i am good at gaming i love league of legends youre the worst competitor ive ever seen maybe you should go and join the dream smp i can rap even faster than a car ill end you six times call that a twelve bar got eliminated once theres no one deader html5 javascript header hold on before i start my verse i just wanna give a quick shoutout to my main mom momino mominos just a nickname her full name is mammacita g ino shes from philly she lives at 9 chickweed lane postal code g4f 9jo house is painted on blue on the outside you cant miss it love you mom alright time to start my verse were domino and were awesome turn up the mic im on the attack i got the gold medals that these bitches lack so if you wanna step in my bullion vaults youre gonna be hit with a billion volts im obelisk and im here to say i first appeared in challenge 8 i am one of runes siblings i do declare i am tall and made of stone so there extending the battle to new heights fermata how do i do it its simple i gotta marker whos the best rapper weve shown fermata makes the best rap battles owned its me firey sr i forget my line sorry rune i heard you rap faster than cars shitting on the mic i call that chocolate bars its about drive its about power we stay hungry we devour put in the work put in the hours and take whats ours dig up diamonds and craft those diamonds and make some armor get it baby go and forge that like you so mlg pro the swords made of diamonds so come at me bro huh training in your room under the torchlight hone that form to get you ready for the big fight" kinda person... be honest

[cuubism]

i feel like i've been disappeared off of ao3 for ages now but it's because i have been rushing to finish this thing for the malec bang that got wholly out of hand. it is based on @dr-lemurr 's lovely art, tho i think i may have given them a bit more than they were bargaining for with this... anyway there will be this thing that really did not have to be 40 thousand words why did i do that, and dr lemurr's art (and bonus art that they made???? that i'm obsessed with 🥺), this saturday... motivation to finish willing

~~

Nephilim wings weren’t really meant for prolonged flight.

They were great in a fight. They let Alec jump and flip over demons, let him vault up walls and over the gaps between rooftops, gave cover from blows and let him get in aerial shots with his bow. The wings were great for maneuvering and quick turns and spats with flying demons. But Alec wasn’t about to climb to the top of the Empire State Building and try to fly down. They weren’t made for that.

(Simon had once said that their wings were kind of like chickens’ wings in how good they were for flight. Magnus had thought that was absolutely hilarious. Alec hadn’t. He may not have held the wings in such venerated regard as Magnus usually seemed to, but he did take them seriously.

Clary had said she thought they were more like sparrows’ wings. At least that was slightly less insulting.)

But now? Now, Alec wasn’t sure what his wings were made for.

Magnus was nervous about the flight rune. Not that either of them knew exactly what it did. Alec could, technically, fly already. He wasn’t sure how to test it out, either, without risking falling to his death.

But Alec had to privately admit to himself that he was excited about the rune, not nervous. There was something so portentous and powerful about it, even just the word. Flight. Flight.

“And we should— we should— God, should you try to activate it? Is it active already? Is it—”

Alec held up a hand. “Magnus, calm down.”

Magnus stopped his restless fidgeting, looking at Alec with wide eyes. “Does it feel different? Does it feel foreign?”

Alec did feel different, and his wings especially, but they didn’t feel foreign. They didn’t feel like something was wrong.

They felt like something was right.

“They feel…” he searched for a word. “Good. They feel good. I sort of feel like I’m in one of the myths.”

“A Nephilim of old,” Magnus agreed. “Travelling the earth with your blazing sword, blasting demons aside with your powerful wings.”

Alec grinned. “Pretty much.” Magnus smiled at him, and Alec tried to find confidence in his eyes. It felt strangely vulnerable to voice this. It made him feel vulnerable to want it. “Do you think… they can really fly? Like… actually fly?”

Magnus’s smile softened. He caressed a hand down Alec’s neck and over his shoulder, coming to a stop over the flight rune on his collarbone. “I don’t see why the power would have gifted you that rune if not for that purpose.”

Alec tried not to let himself get excited. It was always a bit dangerous to want things when the possibility of having them wasn’t guaranteed. But it was strange to, for once, find something in his wings other than utilitarian purpose.

He recalled when Max had been born, and the first time he had held him. He remembered cradling that tiny baby in his spindly twelve-year-old arms and having a revelation that those arms weren’t just meant to hold a weapon. That he wasn’t just meant to be a weapon.

He recalled the first time he had made love to Magnus, how he had thrown all of himself into it, and the realization that there was such a thing as giving with his body in a way that didn’t take away from himself.

It was like that now. His wings heavy with power against his back, and a body that was singing, this isn’t for the Clave. This is for you.

He didn’t feel like a weapon, or even a Nephilim, right then. He felt like an eagle.

Suddenly Alec was filled with a surge of absolutely reckless abandon. His new runes were active; he could feel them buzzing against his skin. Flight burned over his heart. He grinned wildly at Magnus, and saw Magnus’s eyes widen in alarm.

“Let’s find out,” Alec said.

Before Magnus could stop him, he took off across the bedroom and into the living room. Alec was barely dressed, still missing his shirt and with nothing more than a pair of loose sleep pants, but he ignored it. Clothes seemed unimportant. Thinking seemed unimportant. He sprinted barefoot across the balcony and vaulted up onto the wall.

“Alexander!” Magnus yelled, running after him.

Alec was going to have hell to pay and a lot of apologizing to do after this, but he was too filled with euphoria to care.

He leapt forward into the open air.