#tyrias library

[ilreleonewikiart]

(Bonus) Fashion Studies

House Rogare – Lys

As mentioned before, even though the Westeros fashion studies series has ended, I wanted to share two bonus studies before reopening commissions—so here we are!

These might even be the start of a new series focused on Essos fashion. Who knows? We'll see 👀

In this upcoming series, the designs are less tied to noble Houses and instead reflect the many roles in Essosi society (like nobles, priests, politicians, and military figures).

This study (and the next one) is based less on canon and more on my AU fanfiction, where House Rogare and the city of Lys play a major role. The clothing designs follow my own headcanons, so they may differ quite a bit from how Lys is portrayed in the books.

Even the family sigil was designed by me!

Let me know if you enjoy this new layout and character arrangement ✨

"House Rogare is one of the oldest families from Lys. It is said that its founder was a certain Lysarro from Tyria, a merchant of pearls who was among the first people to settle in the city after it was created by the Valyrian Freehold; his family then became the first to gain the rank of nobles, after the Doom of Valyria. In time, the Rogare became wealthy and powerful, creating the Rogare Bank, which eventually grew large enough to rival the Iron Bank of Braavos and even surpass it. Under the lead of Lysandro Rogare, First Magister of Lys, whose daughter married Prince Viserys Targaryen in 137 AC, the bank was able to expand its influence even in Westeros, becoming one of the principal investigators of its technological and economic advancement.  Lysandro's brother, Drazenko was about to marry Princess Aliandra Martell of Dorne when a mysterious illness killed her and her family. The family, like most of the nobles of Lys, are in the business of prostitution and owns three of the ten most important high-rank brothels on the island - The Perfumed Garden, the Fruits of Spring and the Summer Pleasures -  and after the betrothal of  to Prince Viserys, they started to expand their business even in King's Landing, where they opened two pleasure gardens, the Spring Delights and the Pearl of the Sea.   Unlike the others, the Rogare are famous for breeding and training their Ruklon (male prostitutes) and Pubres (female prostitutes), in order for them to create the finest and the most beautiful bedslaves on Essos and beyond. House Rogare have an important role in the political and economic life of the city, having commissionated the construction of many important public building, like the Great Library, the very first Temple dedicated to the Goddes Adera, the patron of the island and other little sanctuaries to other minor Lyseni deities.  Also attributed to them is the construction of the Great Bridge, one of the five bridges that make up the city, the same for the giant copper statue, covered in gold depicting Lior, the God of Trade, in front of the Temple dedicated to the god of the same name. Since some of them are part of the Conclave of Magistrates, they are legally entitled to front-row seats in the city’s huge open-air theater, located in the Blennosos Gevives, the Hill of Beauty, the island’s arts district. Although they have personal basins in their home, by social custom the Rogare, both male and female, usually go to wash themselves in the great and lavish public thermal baths of Vogesso, named in honor of the Magister who had built them a few centuries before, located between the Commerce and Justice districts. The two most emblematic buildings of House Rogare, however, are their Gold Bank and their family residence, located in the easternmost part of the island, atop Golden Hill, The Lenton Queldie. " - TDIOBCB wiki

[moonlit-grove]

Partially Obscured Journal

timelost AU go brrrr

Written as a journal found by Commander Tellus during the events of SoTO. (Cor belongs to @salad-tales, Mikhail who is mentioned belongs to @dumb-dumb-mander.)

???

I haven't kept a journal for myself in a long time. I haven't remembered or had time or… I'm making excuses. Malomedies always tells me it's important to write. I do, just not always in the same place.

I don't know what happened. I can sense Nykai trying to find me. I can sense his panic, still. I guess that comes with being the Champion of a Dragon of Time. He can sense that I’m alive, just not when I am. And he has to search along all of time, past and future. And he sees it all, it must be so hard for him to narrow in to find one blip.

I don’t even know when I am. I don’t recognize anything. I’ve been walking for a while. I try to keep people- mostly humans, I think, from seeing me. It’s easy, with my Lightbringer training. And being a spy. I’m trained to be unseen, after all.

I think I’m moving toward the Grove. That will at least give me something. If Mother is just a sprout or a sapling, that will at least give me something. Even if it’s nothing concrete. It’s something.

(The next entry is still undated, the edges of the page are crinkled as if gripped tightly. The pen used was pressing very hard, there are some small tears.)

???; Three days have passed

I didn’t make it. I haven’t made it to the Grove, but… Mursaat. Mursaat are still alive, still around. No White Mantle, though, so…? I don’t know what that means, I’d normally ask Cor for confirmation on dates. I don’t know when that means, it could be as early as pre-exodus. I don’t know what this means. Mursaat, no White Mantle, humans existing… I need to redirect towards Ascalon. Try to see if the war is on. See if charr and humans are battling or not.

(Pages are ripped out haphazardly. Several pages, unknown numbers of entries. The next one that isn’t too damaged to read is a little shaky. There are drops of dried… something.)

757, specific date unknown

It’s 757. If I remember right, Joko is starting his conquest. Joko is… Mother, just the thought, that if I could convince these captors to free me, if I could only break out, I could go end a lich god-king’s reign before it truly begins.

These people. This Astral Ward. They insist it’s for the better of Tyria. The Mursaat that grabbed me- it’s still jarring just how much bigger they are, his entire hand wraps around my torso like I’m one of Romeo’s toys. The mursaat tells me it’s to preserve the timeline. They seem to know I’m out of time. Timelost, the seer keeps calling me.

Seers, mursaat… I need to get to their library. I’ve seen it. I need to know more, I need to know what’s already happened and what’s yet to come.

Phoenix 16, 757

The mursaat- Mabon. His name is Mabon. I need to write his name, respect him. He’s doing a lot for me. Convinced the seer, Isgarren (the wizard from the tower in Garrenhoff, apparently) to let me leave that cage. As long as I’m supervised. That’s fine. As long as I’m free. Mabon is nearby. I’m… I haven’t read this many history books in a long time. Kahedins would be proud. I’m getting everything narrowed down, of what’s already happened. What’s coming. I can’t stop anything, that would ruin the timeline. I’ve seen the effect one change can have. Nykai and I were the catalyst for breaking what was supposed to be already.

I can’t believe I miss him so much. I can’t sense him anymore. Something about the magics of this place. I can’t sense my Elder Dragon. I’m sure that means he can’t sense me either. Mother, he must be so scared. Canach must be terrified. Romeo and Saoirse, I can’t even imagine how they’re feeling. Romeo already lost a pair of parents, now he’s lost his new mother. I can’t believe this… I need to get back to them.

Phoenix 10, 762

It's been a while. I've been busy. Excuses, I know, papa. I can see my star. The Moondrop, the star he named after me at its apex. I've pointed it out to the jotun. Dagda. We bonded over the stars. Over how I was brought up studying and reading their guidance. She’s calling me moondrop now. She seems to think it's sweet that my dad named a star for me, a whole constellation for me.

Isgarren is… I think he's getting used to the idea of my magic. Of me not being a threat. I don't want to damage the world my family must exist in one day. If I were just guaranteed that it would benefit, I would act. I'd have killed Joko five or so years ago. If only I knew it would benefit. Change things in a good way.

Mabon is shockingly easy to get along with. He has regrets. I do too. You don't live as long as he does, as I have, without regrets. It'd be suspicious if you did. He's open about his past. What he remembers. Yesterday, he and I stayed up for hours. Sitting outside his chambers, talking about our pasts.

The future, in my case. But it’s still nice. To talk.

(Many entries, as you read, appear to be day-to-day accounts. A few weeks tend to be skipped over, sometimes entire months. But never years. Vie seems to be growing to like the wizards, her words offering insight to a time at peace. A time when they’re not stressed and losing people left and right.)

Zephyr 30, 957

Mabon joined me star-watching last night. Usually it’s Dagda, but she was busy with apprentices. The way she left, it felt… It’s been a long time since I sensed Mikhail trying to get Canach and I alone together, or me trying to get Cor and Trahearne alone (Mother, I miss both of them so much). It felt like that. It felt like she was making excuses to have Mabon take her place.

He listened with full intent to learn. He listened to everything. Last night, the 29th of Zephyr. In 372 years, Aurene and Nykai will hatch. Just under four hundred years left. I’m so close. I’m… So close to home. I just have to wait a little longer.

And yet… I find, when I dream (yes lowercase d, I’m still not connecting to Mother, nor to Nykai in my sleep) it’s… Not Canach’s face. Not anymore. Not his voice, his face, his touch, his love. It’s not him I’m wanting. I know he’s waiting for me. I know, he’s probably searching. But… This feeling, the face I saw.

No. Not a face. It was a mask. Mabon’s mask. I… I can’t believe myself. I’ve held on for so long. 

Colossus 15, 1000

The Wizards… I didn’t realize they’d want to celebrate. Lyhr, his emotional side, he asked when my birthday was. He’s correcting himself, it was… Nice. “Awakening, I mean. Sylvari aren’t born.” It was today. I didn’t realize they’d celebrate for me. Or that any of them still celebrated the days they’re born. Maybe I just didn’t pay attention. Maybe they do it in private.

They brought me to the Bastion of the Obscure. Sent the Astral Ward members away for it. Dagda made me a cake. They didn’t have gifts. Logic Lyhr said it was too short notice, but he’ll start making me something. We enjoyed the peace. Dagda made a point of showing the other wizards the moodrop. It…

It was an eclipse. Just as it will be when I’ll truly be born in 320 years. The moons both in eclipse, with the apex of the moondrop glowing so bright it’d be the only light if it were foggy.

Isgarren took me aside, after watching the star. He was thinking. I’ve learned that look. The obscured night when I stepped from my pod seemed to click as a final puzzle piece in his mind.

He offered ascension. Asked me to lead the Bastion of the Obscure, to become the Wizard of the Obscure. I…

I considered it. I did. But in just 320 years, everything begins for me and this waiting ends. But I can’t let myself forget Nykai. I can’t forget my family. I can’t…

Mabon’s getting ready for bed.

Colossus 16, 1000

This will not be much of an entry. Apologies, Papa. But with me refusing ascension, Isgarren gave me a new title. My rank is above the Ward but below the Court. Somewhere between. Something personal to them, rather than calling me by someone else’s name for me.

They won’t be calling me Champion of Time anymore. They’ll be calling me Timewatcher. Fitting, I suppose.

Phoenix 14, 1079

I followed him. I shouldn’t have. I knew this was coming, I knew the mursaat would die out, but… I couldn’t tell him. Mother, I wanted to. I wanted to warn him. Wanted to soothe what was coming, but that could break things. I wanted to…

Yesterday, the mursaat died out. Today, Mabon went to Bava Nisos. I followed him, he didn’t know. I followed him, watching and following as he looked over the devastation of his people. I can sense him, I could sense how much he hurt. How angry he was. He’s isolated now. There’s no more mursaat, just him…

I followed him into the city, followed him chasing down a (the ink over the word is too smudged to read) inside. I followed… He never knew I was there. Or maybe he sensed me like I sensed him. Mursaat mates can sense each other, he says. It’s not just my Dream linking to his magic.

We’re back in Amnytas, now. In the tower. He’s distracting himself, tending to Suledin. I just wish I knew how to help him. A burden that is shared is much easier to bear. I wish I knew how to get him to share this burden. I’m his mate. If he can’t endure this with me, who can he endure it with?

Honestly… I don’t know if there’s a purpose to waiting. Yes, it’s only 241 years. But I am not the lilac they lost. Even if I step in exactly when I was sent back, it will be clear I’m not the same. I’m not… I’ve changed. Bough, I’ve mated to a mursaat!

Maybe I should accept Isgarren’s offer. Maybe I should become the Wizard of the Obscure.

[gw2characteroftheday]

I think I'm gonna start doing weekly art and writing showcases too.

I saw that tyrias library stopped posting (big sad they were my biggest hype man when I wrote my pirate saga), so I'll just fill that niche instead

[kehideni]

IDK if i ever flaunted all my characters in GW2... probably not.

Anyone interested? No? Too bad you're getting one HAHH

The main boi himself, my first ever character and main:

The Commander - Beasteye Denalien

This has been is 'mog for years now, i think he owns it very well. Hint of Ash Legion identity with the hood, and a whole lot of survivalist, dragon killer, ranger in the rest of the gear.

Chronologically the second is my warrior:

Wherever there is a Denalien there is a Lethupan. Beastclaw Lethupan was my first pvp alt who's since been downgraded into my legendary gear crafter. Artificer and Weaponsmith. He used to have his own fashion too, but i felt as my assigned crafter he should don the whole legy gear himself as showoff.

Third i wanna show off is my current pvp guardian:

Blackbeast Adrien is the only support i use. I use him as a condi dps in pve (raaaaarely, really rarely) but most often he is my go to in pvp as a support core guardian.

Fourth is the newest addition to the roster:

My cosplay character: Six Eared Macaque. I almost made him a necromancer because of the shroud ability but that would be my 3rd necromancer and also the only ability Macaque shares with necromancer *IS* the shroud. So this guy ended up being a thief for thieves can port, use staff and spear both (yes i know necromancer can too but necro staff is not martialarts-y like it is for thief) and Macaque is also more known for his sneakyness which is very thief like and thieves can go invisible so...

Fifth is the only human i have who is an elementalist:

Belle Thebeauty started out as a joke between me and my brother. He made a Beast lookalike and i made a Beauty lookalike that we both ended up using as our bank characters hahh... Ironically i placed all my ingame lorebooks on her so she is kinda fullfilling her dream as a living library as well.

Sixth is my halloween bag farmer:

Beastslain Daelin is a cruel joke on World of Warcraft's Daelin Proudmoore. If there was a shaman class in GW2, i'd have made him that, but the next best thing was making him a flame legion charr that's a necromancer. Essencially the joke is becoming the thing he hates the most. A "savage" monster.

Seventh is my only sylvari, Rúzsa.

He simply started out as a plant joke (hungarian joke, Rúzsa sounds similar to Rózsa which means rose.) Made him a revenant because at the time that was the only profession i haven't tried yet. Now he is my main condi dps for pve use.

Eight is Luna Shadowbeast

Thief and the account's jewelcrafter and tailor. She was simply made for me to try out thief and when i learned that thief is not my playstyle she retired as a crafter.

Ninth is another reference character:

My first asura and first engineer: Mikron Ojeneus. He is a reference to this guy:

Bet ya'all didn't know that Gizmo's real name in the DC Universe is Mikron Ojeneus. Hahahh

Tenth is a challenge character, that [RnR] made me do:

The rule was set specifically to me

i could not make the character a charr

it must be a condi character (because i am so set on being a power dps)

i must randomise it's looks and not change it

i must not use mounts

His name is Den Ecromancer which is a play on my screen name. Since RnR is inactive yet again, he became a "discover core tyria using only the turtle mount" character. Rules are: i'm only allowed to use the turtle mount and only can get off it if the discovery is impossible to do with it. There are very few objectives in core tyria that you can't do with turtle turns out.

Eleventh is my token mesmer i made only so i'd have a mesmer too:

Corva Beastmuzzle is currently collecting dust, awaiting a role for her. She is also a homage to my first cat, Happy who died last christmas. Her fur pattern is identical to that of Happy's.

Twelveth character is a clone character to my main

Not Denalien is a ranger, that is a clone to Beasteye Denalien. He exists because Arenanet sometimes retroactively messes up the repeatable storymode, making it impossible to record with Beasteye Denalien. That's when i use this guy to record the story, and it was this guy i used to record the OG Denalien's personal story.

And lastly, my thirteenth character

Huba Swiftbeast, my elementalist. He only exists because one day i was bored and i wanted another character :3 He was a roleplay character, that i ended up not using because as it turns out i'm not much of a roleplayer :D hahh

[lornteeleaf]

From the mists stepped a creature, wisps of eternal magic clinging to it. Time and possibility themselves bend and snapped to make space for them in the reality of the material world. And with them, they brought on a wispered breath a name, barely heard by the surrounding members of the Astral Ward. As they broke down, right where they had entered this world, the gash in the mists, bleeding magic as a wound does blood, closed behind them. Dagda was first by their side, gathering into her Arms up what might have once been a human woman, a face revealed as their mask disintegrated.

This is The esteemed Archmage Erebos. She is a Mage with the Astral Ward, thou she is not allowed to go out there and risk her life fighting cryptis or other threats to Tyrias safety. She is carefully kept from Danger by the Wizard's Court, but she doesn't mind much. Libraries and Laboratories suit her far better than battlefields, as she learned in the mists from whence she came.

Or at least thats what she knows. That she fell from the mists, right into Amnitas one Day. Everything before that is quite vague in her head, as Isgarren explained thats a common occurence in people who spend long stretches of time in the mists, as much as time can be defined there.

There are a few things from before that she does remember more clearly. The face of a young woman, redhaired and sage eyed, pain on her face. A Mountain with a library inside, a machine, a suit, a portal. A name etched so deeply into her mind it stayed with her: Iowey.

yes so what if I'm just absolutely obsessed with this character??? SOTO really went : " Oh yeah fractals are basically pockets of different realities and endless possibilities" and i was supposed to not go absolutely wild with her backstory?? was i supposed to not take the endless possibilities for heartbreakingly angsty scenes this gives me???

Anyways, yes sometimes i just log onto her to stare at her for a while. Or put her next to other characters in the Homestead and stare at them for a while...

[madame-cookie]

Cadivostellus (he/him) Rank: Legendary

Cadivostellus is the oldest Sylvari member of the Astral Ward. He has long-since forgotten the exact nature of the tree from which his pod bloomed, other than that he was the sole survivor, and recalls meeting Mabon shortly afterwards.

He is a powerful Mage of the Celestial, and a dedicated scholar for the Astral Ward. He routinely makes visits to the surface of Tyria in search of rare magical texts, or artifacts with magical inscriptions. Understanding and applying the magic within the glyphs and symbols they come across is how Cadivostellus has served the Ward for years.

He has a cheery personality that is somewhat unbecoming of his reputation as a ruthless and lethal defender of Amnytas. He is often walking around the library and talking with himself or anyone who will listen about the nature of his interests.

His fascination with the heavens is passionate and true. And no matter where his mission has taken him, Cadivostellus will always find the time to lay back and watch the stars go by above.

[mysticforger]

A little Before and After

A milestone post to which I was looking forward too ever since I started! I now have four edits done and I really enjoy doing them. Here are the before and after for the four images already online. Let's start with my favorite boy!

Jojo

My first edit, the one that started my new hyperfixation. On the picture as actually the tree that gave birth to him (wow, this is so weird to say honestly). During the first months in the Maguuma Jungle he found out he had an unhealthy relationship towards Mordrem, which made him question the reason why he was on Tyria in the first place. Why he was allowed to be here still.

I mostly just changed the lightning and added a shadow underneath the tree and underneath Jojo. I also added some lightning on him because he deserves it.

Thravi

I probably took the longest time thus far with an edit. I removed some of the lights near her left arm, and also toned down some of the green. I darkened the area near her hand to enhance the glow showing around it. She is also opening portals to literal hell, so... I could've gone harder on the dark thing!

I also heightened some of the glow on her leaves. Loving the fact that even though she is now corrupted by the Kryptis, during the nights there is a hint of what she was (vibrant blue with hints of green).

Altrados

This is one where I maybe went harder than I should, but it is closer to her backstory than the original somehow. The first backstory I wrote for her was one where the tattoos would turn into literal fragments of the night sky, and she would grow in size. In that form, she could actually let the tattoo take her over and Altrados would change into an avatar of the night sky (much like the druid. Guess what build she still has to this day!). Letting her wield Astralaria is just... /cheffskiss. Love.

Dallas

I think this one hit me different. Dallas is the one character that changed the most. I used the most kits on her out of all my characters! And after every kit, she looked more like me.

Her backstory also changed a lot, and for some quests I found myself in the library more and more. But I just went through those quest bits mindlessly clicking through the pages. Why? I'm hella dyslectic! And so Dallas wasn't actually reading the books as well. She would literally grab the book, go to the person giving her the quest and throwing the book down at the desk like "here, read yourself.".

[meeeeeeese]

Because why not, here's Rugan's arbitrary ranking of each bastion in Amnytas:

1: The Bastion of the Obscure

In the top spot we have the Bastion of the Obscure, a place filled with mysteries and dangerous research what's not to love about it? As one NPC who's name I forget says "The Bastion of the Obscure creates knowledge" And Rugan, being an engineer who's always looking to improve his craft, really vibes with that.

2: The Bastion of Knowledge

It's got a big-ass library filled with likely more knowledge than anywhere else on Tyria, what more is there to say?

3: The Bastion of Nature

while it's focus of life isn't exactly Rugan's thing, it's by far the prettiest Bastion and He can appreciate a good view

4: The Bastion of Strength

While Rugan definitely appreciates the straightforward approach and focus on Battle magic, it's, too spellcraft focused for him. And besides, it's where [story event redacted for spoilers] happens, so it has some bad memories

5: The Bastion of The Celestial

Some of the systems they use to record the stars are impressive, he hasn't really gotten a good introduction to it as during his stay in Amnytas so far it's been fully taken over by the Kryptis, so it ranks low mostly by default

6: The Bastion of Balance

Sorry Lyhr, but Rugan's spent a decade worrying about the balance of Tyria, so this bastion loses by default. Honestly his eye twitches a bit when someone brings up the word balance. This Bastion's focus on debate doesn't score it any points either.

[ravens-lodge]

HI!

Finally a post about my ocs If you're ever curious about my art and characters feel free to send an ask or something

Just a bit of background or little interesting bits about my characters, some are still a WIP and a lot of backgrounds and stuff will change around since this is where I just dump some info I’m working with until im satisfied lol

Name: Cyn (in game: Cynidic) Race: Human (male) Relationship: Trahearne Profession: Necromancer Notes: Priory scholar, retired Pact Commander, member of Dragons watch Originally the Pact Commander until giving that title and responsibility to Vrixsif after the death of Trahearne. He continued to stay apart of the group and help fight against the threat of the elder dragons but had begun to distance himself from everyone, leading to his biggest regret in becoming one of Jormags champions along side Ryland, although his corruption wasn't as strong. He was freed from jormags grasp on his mind before the dragons final fight and was found under the rubble alive with injuries to his arm and part of his face was rebranded by Aurene. After the defeat of Jormag and Primordus he has stepped away to continue his studies at the Durmand Priory library. 

oc tag: cyn

Name: Kyrus Fane  (in game: Kyrus Fane) (usually my main) Race: Human (male) Relationship: Verriks (its complicated, a slow burn since end end of pof) Profession: Thief, Deadeye/specter Notes: Bounty hunter, ex-Whispers agent, a loose member of dragons watch who soon became commander, Wayfinder Great at getting in and out of places without a trace, as well as getting information that he really shouldn't know. A Krytan nuisance and thorn in Logans side before he was asked that him and his small group help in the fight against Zhiatan, he agreed and stayed along side Cyn and Vricsif since, he would lend his daggers and rifle but staying distant from any sort of big team leading role as he preferred to do most of his work solo. Since Cyn left and despite his reluctance at first, he has become someone the group tends to look towards when Vrixsif isn't around to help smooth things over and stepped away after injuries. Shares the “commander” role/title with Vrixsif but hate’s being referred to as such.

oc tag: kyrus

Name: Verriks  (in game: Verriks) Race: Human (male) (Not from this Tyria) Relationship: Kyrus (its complicated, a slow burn since end end of pof) Profession: Revenant Notes: Dragons watch member, a skilled weapon/armoursmith He doesnt talk much about his past to others or where he’s from, only that he was found in the mists by Rytlock but the two haven’t said much about their time together while there. Verriks has helped out the commander and Rytlock whenever he can since. A big part in the PoF storyline with commander Vrixsif and Kyrus and during the fight against Balthazar. (Usually stays out of the main issues the commanders face but ended up with Kyrus in during SotO)

Name: Vrixsif Hrafsdottir  (in game: Vrixsif) Race: Norn (female) Relationship: Braham Profession: Thief, Deadeye/Specter Notes: Pact Commander, member/leader of Dragon's Watch, Champion of Aurene She and her sister Vivrein were were born to an owl Havroun mother and a raven shaman father. After slaying Issormir, cutting down Svanir and proving herself she was recruited into the order of whispers and soon undercover as a vigil member, and rising up in ranks. She soon met with an old acquaintance, Cyn, who she befriended during her short time gathering information from the priory. From there her future became mixed with the pact and was someone others relied on. She became pact commander when Cyn handed the responsibly over after Trehearnes death. She's been with Dragons Watch and by aurenes side since. Has been taking it easy back in the shiverpeaks after receiving serious injuries during the fight against the void and soo-won

oc tag: vrixsif

Name: Vivrein Hrafsdottir  (in game: Vivrein)  Race: Norn (female) Profession: Elementalist Notes: Traveler, Wanderer Left her home behind after hearing a call in her mind to head north, deeper into the far shiverpeaks. She stayed and helped the Kodan in the Bitterfrost and Bjora marches where she has lived most of her life. She had been trying to track Jormag and Drakkar until she was met with the Commander, Vrixsif, (during Icebrood saga), reuniting with her sister after many years and helping to take down the dragon together. oc tag: vivrein

Name: Morbrek  (in game: Morbrek) Race: Sylvari (male) Profession: Elementalist Notes: Vigil member

Laithian’s and Vennric’s pod twin, tallest of the three(wip)

oc tag: morbrek

Name: Vennric  (in game: Vennric) Race: Sylvari (male) Profession: Thief Notes: Whispers agent, ( AU Pact Commander, member/leader of Dragon's Watch, Champion of Aurene (wip)

Morbek’s and Laithian’s pod triplet (background wip, still needs to be edited)

oc tag: vennric

Name: Laithian  (in game: Laithian) Race: Sylvari (male) Profession: Warrior Notes: Vigil captain

Morbek’s and Vennric’s pod triplet (wip)

oc tag: laithian

Name: Dee  (in game: De Doss) Race: Asura (female) Profession: engineer Notes: Dynamics researcher Passionate about her work with portals and gates as well as the mists. Inspired and deep into the works of past researchers and engineers, she has taken over an old lab after some research on its whereabouts, she’s usually in there trying to fix an old mist gate or messing around with new gadgets and tools. A friend of Dion’s

Name: Dion (in game: Dion Venn) Race: Human appearance (Usually Male) Profession: Engineer Notes: A human like entity from the mists, his first interaction in years was with Dee, stepping out from the mists into Tyria from the broken gate in her lab. Spends most of his time with Dee, some days he disappears for hours only to be back at her side ready to help with whatever she needs. Questionable morals and mannerisms but has been under a watchful eye from Dee since he arrived. Has his own little lab room in a corner with permission from Dee He never removes his helmet

Name: Niev  (in game: Vricsif) Race: Sylvari (female) Relationship: Garrick Freysson Profession: Mesmer, Mirage Notes: Traveler, born from a different tree Niev is a sylvari who emerged from a secluded tree in the shiver peaks. She wandered through the snow for weeks only to be found by a norn, Garrick, on his long hunts up north. He helped her get her bearings after being nearly frozen stiff and after a few days she was fully ready to travel and experience the world she had seen in her dreams.

oc tag: niev

Name: Garrick freysson  (in game: Krivvis) Race: Norn (male) Relationship: Niev Profession: Ranger Notes: Hunter, Traveler A strong hunter and an amazing chef, although young he was respected greatly as a hunter by many He found Niev almost frozen solid deep in the shiver peaks on one of his long trips, after helping her, he brought her back to hoelbrak for extra care. He made a promise to her about her dream to explore all of tyria, it was something he had wanted to do but never had the reason until now, with an interesting new friend.

oc tag: garrick

Name: Viksion  (in game: Viksion) Race: Asura (male) Profession: Mesmer Notes: Inquest assassin Wants to watch the world burn. His hatred for most living on Tyria is painfully well known amongst those who've worked with him, especially to those he tried to use as test subjects. He was forcefully persuaded into the inquest by an old colleague and suffered under their heel after trying to leave when he was suppose to be used in a new experiment. Doesn't like to talk about himself much.

oc tag: viksion

Name: Evea rune (in game: Evearune) Race: Human (female) Profession: Elementalist Notes: Wanderer She has a habit of stumbling upon major events across Tryia by coincidence. She is usually deep in the study of any old book she can get her hands on, magic the gods and the elements are all she can focus on. Resolutely seeking something.

Name: Syvia Bloodgrace  (in game: Syvia Bloodgrace) Race: Charr (female) Relationship: Vivric Mistriven Profession: Necromancer Notes: Priory explorer (wip)

Name: Vivric Mistriven  (in game: Vivric) Race: Charr (female) Relationship: Syvia Bloodgrace Profession: Revenant Notes: Mercenary, Whispers lightbringer (wip)

oc tag: vivric

Name: Aenya  (in game: Gothic priestess)

Race: Human (female) Profession: Guardian Notes: Priestess of Grenth (wip)

oc tag: aenya

[lady-knuckles]

9, 10, 20 for the writer and artist ask game!

So I know I'm eleven billion years late on responding (forgive me >_< I don't use Tumblr on the computer anymore, and work is a BITCH, lol), but alas!

9. Favourite OC?

It will always be the love of my life, Laiari Blackadder, and all of her various versions throughout media. A History lesson; she actually came from my old Sims 3 playthrough. I randomly made a redhead green-eyed (not blue, that didn't come into either Guild Wars 2 or Dragon Age Origins) black lady and named her Laiari Blackadder because I thought the name was pretty. 400 years later, here we are! I even had my coworker put her, Trev, and Hawke on a t-shirt when she was visiting her hometown's library. (Yay DTF Printers!) But yeah, Laiari keeps me here, literally and figuratively.

10. OC you most struggled to make?

Right now, there is a mix between my 2 Charr and 2 Norn OCs because I'm not a Charr and Norn person, so learning the lore is tedious for me. It doesn't come easy like the Human, Sylvari, and Asura races. Also, anything dealing with my Inquisitor. I just can't finish the game. I'd rather read everyone else's stories through their fics, lol. I'm also struggling with my Dragonborn OCs from Skyrim. Like I have a plan; I just need to flesh out the story so I can jump in and out. Like I have Taylani how I want her. Altmers are easy. My Redguard, Nalani, however, is a tough cookie, and I'm walking on unsteady ground with her due to the dual storylines I have both of them a part of.

20. What story are you the proudest of? Why?

So it's ongoing because Arena Net keeps adding shit into the game. Still, it's my fic series called Welcome To Tyria, where I finagle the storylines a bit to fit my character's narratives. I have everything fleshed out in story chapters per the game in Scrivener; I just need to finish it HAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAH >_> But my Skyrim fic looks scrumptious. <_< And I wanna work on that more -_-

[ohpollenpowder]

4 for any human who can answer it 👀

4] Do they have any particularly (in)famous or historically relevant ancestors? Does it matter to them?

Runa! We get some lore for her for a change!!! But alas, it's not going to be a lot in comparison to the others below. Her name is a Canthan name, the first part is, anyway, and so her ties link back to Empress Consort Tahmu—who became a dragon and the leader of the Celestials. [source] If she knows this information herself—which she probably does—she holds it very close to the breast as she does most things. Tahmu is aware of her descendant and since Cantha has reconnected with the rest of Tyria, has thought about reaching out to her. Especially during the Lunar New Year.

Gavin I covered in a Commander meme eons ago, but to regrab that one:

𝙶𝚊𝚟𝚒𝚗 𝚒𝚜 𝚍𝚒𝚛𝚎𝚌𝚝𝚕𝚢 𝚛𝚎𝚕𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝙸𝚗𝚗𝚔𝚎𝚎𝚙𝚎𝚛 𝙰𝚗𝚍𝚛𝚎𝚠 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚍𝚊𝚞𝚐𝚑𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝙿𝚎𝚝𝚛𝚊, 𝙽𝙿𝙲𝚜 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚐𝚎𝚝 𝚝𝚘 𝚖𝚎𝚎𝚝 𝚒𝚏 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚌𝚑𝚘𝚘𝚜𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚎 "𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚖𝚘𝚗 𝚏𝚘𝚕𝚔" 𝚋𝚒𝚘𝚐𝚛𝚊𝚙𝚑𝚢 𝚘𝚙𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗. 𝙷𝚎 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝙿𝚎𝚝𝚛𝚊 𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚌𝚘𝚞𝚜𝚒𝚗𝚜, 𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚖𝚘𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚋𝚎𝚎𝚗 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚖𝚘𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛'𝚜 𝚜𝚒𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚛. 𝚃𝚑𝚎𝚢 𝚘𝚏𝚝𝚎𝚗 𝚙𝚕𝚊𝚢𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚘𝚐𝚎𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚊𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚒𝚗𝚗 𝚊𝚜 𝚌𝚑𝚒𝚕𝚍𝚛𝚎𝚗, 𝚙𝚕𝚊𝚢𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚖𝚊𝚔𝚎-𝚋𝚎𝚕𝚒𝚎𝚟𝚎 𝚍𝚘𝚠𝚗 𝚒𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚋𝚊𝚜𝚎𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚢 𝚠𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚘𝚗 𝚊 𝚜𝚊𝚒𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚜𝚑𝚒𝚙 𝚘𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚑𝚒𝚐𝚑 𝚜𝚎𝚊𝚜. 𝙽𝚎𝚒𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚖 𝚎𝚗𝚍𝚎𝚍 𝚞𝚙 𝚐𝚘𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚎𝚊𝚏𝚊𝚛𝚎𝚛 𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚝𝚎; 𝚠𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝙿𝚎𝚝𝚛𝚊 𝚑𝚎𝚕𝚙𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚍𝚊𝚍 (𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝙿𝙲) 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝙶𝚊𝚟𝚒𝚗 𝚐𝚘𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚒𝚗𝚝𝚘 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚙𝚛𝚒𝚎𝚜𝚝𝚑𝚘𝚘𝚍 𝚙𝚛𝚒𝚘𝚛 𝚝𝚘 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚍𝚎𝚊𝚝𝚑.

So in his case, they are important to him. Very much so. Andrew practically raised Gavin seeing as his mother wasn't always around and his father had—ironically—been a sailor and died out on the stormy waters just before Gavin was born. Thus, Petra was often like an older sister for him, so he's rather protective over them both as well.

For the Konu-siblings… This sent me down a rabbit hole. And this is very link heavy out of all the lore bouncing from Guild Wars and Guild Wars 2.

Okay. So. They are so very distantly related to the first emperor of Cantha, Kaineng Tah, because the man had thirty-favored concubines and they had over two hundred kids. [source] Which. In a way makes them related to Shiro Tagachi… More on that later. One of these ancestors was a member of the Crimson Skull, which was what got the family out of Cantha and into Kryta. [source] This family member was a trained Ritualist and continued to pass this knowledge down the line, which probably lead to the eventual nobility-ing of the Konu family. This (Ritualist knowledge) also probably lead to Ryon and (somewhat) Shiori's ties with the spirits within the Mists as Necromancers (former and current respectively). [source]

There's also a tie to the Luxon's, also a rather weak one and to no one of note, but they also passed down the worship of the Three Queens—Alua, Elora, and Ione. [source] Which also makes the Alliance Stance for Revenants kinda "fun" for Ryon as well. [source] Oh so much fun having Shiro and Archemorus calling him "cousin" in his head, not to mention Viktor side-lining and egging them both on. [source] Back to the Three Queens, Ryon wasn't much one for worshiping them himself, that was more Yunru Ione and sometimes Shiori. Shiori is also researching "Weh no Su" in order to get more…information on her dearest older brother and maybe alternative cures. [source] This is at Monet's "discovering" of the information regarding Weh no Su in one of her books at the library and sharing with her dear friend, "you can find out what he's hiding~"

So…to the second part of the question. Yes. Kinda. Yunru Ione was named after (one of) the Three Queens and Shiori looks into their Ritualist roots to delve into Weh no Su. Ryon is more or less a…handmaiden to one of the patron gods the Luxons chose from the Six (Grenth) and is annoyed constantly by Shiro and Archemorus (and Viktor) when his own voice isn't in his head. (Since he channels himself as a Necromancer most times.) But they're all interested in learning more about the Luxon Leviathans. [source] And they all try their best to ignore the weak link to Shiro Tagachi...

[missbadafker]

Here's my lesbians :3 (TOP): Amya is super single and loves animals and wandering around the Far Shiverpeaks while honing her fighting skills. She can be a bit broody and takes time to open up to people. (BOTTOM): Eymeria's wyld hunt is healing the Pale Tree and therefor she dedicates her time finding and learning all the techniques and knowledge there is on Tyria (and in the Durmand Priory's library). She's super caring and basically a big sweetheart. She's had a few short flings but is single again.

it's lesbian visibility day!!!

and this is a post to share your lesbian gw2 ocs!

(ill begin: this is eina astera, my condi virtuoso raid menace :D)

[knight-of-the-thorn]

a prompt for you, should you choose to accept it: “i kept it from you, but this knowledge will get you killed!” -kerra-and-company

A very old one for you today, This has been finished for ages but apparently I was nervous to post it at the time!

I really like Caithe, I think she’s an incredibly interesting and nuanced character, but god did Arceidai had really complicated feelings towards her after Trahearne died.

This short piece takes place during LWS3 Out of Shadows, during the story step “A Shadows Deeds” _____________________________________________________________ Suffice to say, she was the last person Arceidai wanted to see.

They’d been avoiding Caithe since they left the jungle. It hadn’t been hard, she had been making herself scarce, but it had still been quite deliberate on their part. But she was here now, investigating the same thing as them. Whatever the odds of that were, Arceidai hated that it was even in the realm of possibilities.

“Theitia asked after me while I was in the Grove.” And there it was. One of many things they did NOT want to talk about. “The wardens said you two have been exchanging letters for some time now.”

“Mmm hmmm.” They kept their focus on pulling bloodstone shards out of the earth.

“After everything that she’s done, are you sure that’s the best idea?” She sounded tentative.

“I don’t remember the discussion where we decided that my mail was any of your business.” 

“See? That’s exactly what I’m talking about Arceidai! She’s dangerous, you know that better than anyone. I’ve done the exact same thing, and I know how it feels but you need to trust me, you are going to get yourself-”

“Oh, trust you! So I’m supposed to trust you now!” Arceidai stood up abruptly. “That is absolutely rich coming from you of all people.”

Caithe grimaced and sighed. “You’re upset with me. And you have every right to be.”

“Upset with you? I can’t possibly imagine why you’d think that.” They rolled their eyes and shouldered their way past her as the cavern shuddered again. “This should be enough bloodstone. Let’s head back up to the platform.”

“Will you please just let me speak before we go any further?” 

Arceidai kept their back turned to her as she spoke, but they stopped their march. “What else is there to say?”

“I can't take back what happened, but I can tell you I know what I did was wrong and I'm sorry.” She sounded genuinely remorseful. That wasn’t the level of vulnerability they were used to from her. “My Wyld Hunt, Mordremoth's voice...they were tearing at each other and sometimes I didn't know which was which. I was very confused, and I felt like the only person I could trust was me.”

“The only person you could trust.” They echoed, almost laughing as they turned sharply to face her.”You want to know the worst part about all this? I never doubted for a second that the egg was safe with you because I trusted you. But this isn’t just because of the egg. This is because I don’t particularly like being lied to, this is because nothing I knew about myself was ever true, this is because there is no one left that I know I can actually trust, not even the ONE PERSON I thought would always be on the same side as me!” 

“We’re still on the same side-” She tried to interrupt.

“You LEFT ME Caithe.” They hissed, not done with their tyraid. “I thought that we were a team. You and Tr- You were my family. I wanted to be just like you! And no matter what happened, what secrets you kept, what means you justified with ends, I believed that you would never do anything to hurt me and that we were always going to fight together. Maybe that was stupid, I’ll be the first to admit that I was naïve but I still thought that everything we’d been through counted for- for something. But you still lied to me my entire life! You knew we were going to fight Mordremoth, long before you got the egg, long before you got to the jungle, and you didn't think to tell- tell either of us! You didn't think that was pertinent? That we were going to walk right into a slaughter?”

“It was not a decision I made lightly. You have no idea how much I wished that I could have told anyone about this. I kept it from you because that knowledge would've gotten you killed. It would've gotten all of us killed."

"Trahearne is dead anyways." They said flatly.

Caithe looked like she had been slapped. That was a step too far, and Arceidai knew that the second they said it, but they almost found it hard to care. “Is that what you think? That Trahearne’s death is my fault?”

“I think I shouldn’t have had to run my brother through with his own sword. How you choose to interpret that is something I’ll leave to your discretion.”

“That isn’t fair, and you know it. I understand that you are hurting, but you are not the only person who cared about him so don’t try to pretend that you are. I lost my brother, Arceidai. You have every right to be mad, but don’t put that on me.”

She had a point, and it was incredibly frustrating that she did. “I know, I know that! But if I don’t blame you then who am I supposed to blame, Caithe? If it’s not you, and it’s not Endiena, and it’s not me-” 

She held up a hand for them to stop “Hold on! That human we fought Mordremoth with? What does she have to do with this?”

“Who cares!” Arceidai cried “It isn't anyone’s fault and Mordremoth is dead but that doesn’t make me feel better, so who am I supposed to be angry at!”

 "I don’t know. Sometimes there's no one to be angry at. Sometimes we’re just hurt.”

"And what are we supposed to do then?" 

"If I ever find the answer to that, I'll be sure to tell you first." Caithe sighed.

Arceidai looked away from her, surveying the terrain and shifting their hands uncomfortably. “You did what seemed right in an impossible situation. Rationally I know that.” They paused before adding, with extra emphasis “Rationally.”

“I don’t expect you to forgive me right away. I just want you to think about it.”

“...Okay. Cherry. Let’s just, We have an experiment to complete.I think it best if we focus on that.” Arceidai changed the subject, and raised one of the bloodstone shards to emphasise their point.

Caithe hesitated, then nodded, gesturing to the floating structure. “Right, of course. Lead the way Commander.”

[brax-was-here]

Excerpt - Amaranda’s Journal 1328 AE - Part 12

Ceara has been gone most of the day. She finally returned with the rifle she used against the doppelganger (is that what I call it?) we fought in Lion’s Arch. I asked her what she planned to do with it. She is going to repair it, make it better, and use it as “insurance” against the Nightmare Court and the red hylek. She seemed quite happy to have it in her possession.

We received word today that the Pact launched an attack against Mordremoth and…it didn’t go well. We hear many of the Pacts airships were lost, and many of the soldiers killed or disappeared. What is even more disturbing… sylvari members of the Pact have fallen under the dragon’s sway and turned against their friends. It frightens me to the core of my being learning such a thing has happened. What is to become of us? Will we all fall under control of the beast? What will happen to mother? My understanding is as long as we remain distant from the jungle dragon, his will is weak. But…what if it grows stronger? I cannot bear such thoughts.

Ceara was talking of the ley line that feeds the jungle dragon. If there was a way to stop it, then the dragon could be weakened, and possibly put back to sleep. She spent much time going over notes and calculations, but the answer seems to elude her. She has become very frustrated with herself, blaming herself for all of this. I had to calm her down, which was not easy. I fear these this recent news of the pact loss has put a larger strain on her more so than any of the rest of us sylvari. I hope that she does not decide to do something foolish.

[aerisdraws]

Owl & Raven

My entry for @tyrias-library’s Valentines writing event. The prompt is Soulmates. I hope everyone feels loved, by themselves and others, this Valentine’s season!

Fire and snow. Mountains and valleys. Tradition and innovation.

All of these things complete each other in an eternal cycle. Without one, you could not have the other. No matter how far apart, the two would find each other. The very axis of Life and Death was centered on this principle. Time and space could not withstand the impossible, all-consuming inevitability of fate.

These are how immortal bonds were forged. The great scales of balance would swing, back-and-forth, forever seeking true equilibrium. Occasionally, this pure balance was reached – if only for a second, before the sway of destiny continued.

This unbreakable bond defined everything: from the rise and fall of empires; the life and death of the Dragons; the ebb and flow of money, magic, love, rain… It is what created mortal enemies and destined lovers.

The Norn have a complicated relationship with fate and destiny. On rare occasions it is said that a particular Norn is ‘destined for greatness’… or to fall. Creating one’s own legend, carving their name in stone, is no small task. To give credit to fate for your own blood, sweat and tears would be an insult to any Norn. It is not destiny who decides whose story shall be sung by the skaalds; it is the people… yet one cannot help but wonder what thread binds us all together.

Kàra has gazed up at the stars on many nights, pondering the question. Do these faraway glinting lights hold the answers we seek? Does the past decide the future? She lived a simple life, deep in the snow-capped mountains of the Shiverpeaks: her and her six sisters, along with her parents. They led a secluded life, but Kàra was not one to wander far. Family was everything to her. What point was there in going on grand adventures, if you had none with whom to share it? What did your successes matter, without people to celebrate along your side? She took immense pride in helping raise her sisters and caring for her elders. The biggest adventures for Kàra were her trips to Hoelbrak every few months, to gather supplies her family could not obtain in the wild… and also hair dye. Even hermits have their frivolities.

The teal-haired giantess still remembers the day of her fateful trip to Hoelbrak. Her second sister, Astrid, had told her to keep an eye out for omens. Astrid had always been an odd one, dabbling with death and dreams. She’d taken to practicing reading palms, which had earned her quite a bit of mockery among the nearby villagers – what kind of self-respecting Norn would believe in a story pre-written? It was known, you make your own fate. Still, Kàra kept a lookout for those omens.

Some internal pull, a curiosity, had led the giantess to the Spirit lodges. Her family had a long history with Owl, but since her sacrifice, they turned to Bear. She was going to visit Bear Lodge first, but… when an owl crossed her path and perched itself upon the ice sculpture of Raven, Kàra was compelled to follow. Omen or not, she could visit Bear later.

It was at that moment that the threads of their fate intertwined.

He was sitting at the back, by the fire. A great feast lay on the table nearby, pecked and picked at by the shamans and visitors. This great man, sitting by himself, had one small plate in front of him. What intrigued her about him was that this man was satiating his hunger not with food, but with a book.

He spotted her. She stood out like a sore thumb, a wild animal in a library, tall and dark-skinned with teal hair. She looked about the room and walked as though the walls would close in on her. The raven-haired giant had handled fire before, an untamed and primal force. With a warm smile and a warmer voice, he invited her to join him at his table. So she did. She introduced herself as Kàra Skögul, daughter of the Hermit. He was Thorvald the Ironclad, forgeman and follower of Raven.

Fate was sealed.

From that day forth, Kàra would venture to Hoelbrak not only for supplies, but also to visit him. Over delicious homemade meals, he expanded her world: from reading and writing to tales of lands beyond the snow. Of course any follower of Raven would enjoy teaching, and Kàra was an eager student. In exchange, she told him of her life in the mountains, the stories behind her scars, hunting with her sisters. Thor was an odd one, wearing human clothing, sipping wine from strange nations, and generally being… very unlike other Norn. They were each unique in their own way.

Snow falls, and snow melts. Fire blazes, and smoulders.

In time they were brought onto their own paths, drawn apart. Months would go by without any word from one another, but Kàra knew she would see him before long. Her sisters wondered why she was suddenly so excited to return to Hoelbrak – didn’t Kàra hate crowds? – but she never spoke a word of it.

Their threads wove together, and apart. The wheel turned, as did the seasons.

Kàra returned for supplies.

She returned for stories.

For comfort and help, after her youngest sister was murdered.

For healing when strange new powers overtook her.

And, finally, for a home.

It was not the first time Norn had been through an exodus – but it was a first for her, to be exiled. Banished from her homelands until she won the favour of the Spirits once more.

The threads that bound Kàra and Thorvald together finally united as they swore their loyalty to one another.

With whom better to forge a legend, than one of the greatest smiths?

With whom better to hound glory, than one of the finest huntswomen?

[whiskeyworen]

IceBrood Saga - Chills

"It's your move." Someone said. He couldn't remember who it was. That's okay. It doesn't matter. He tiredly blinked his eyes, trying to focus on the table before him.

Where was he? That doesn't matter. Did it matter at all? No...not really. It was kinda hard to see though. There was a lot of blowing snow around him, obscuring his view of the table, and of the person on the other side of it. Ignore the snow. It's just for...ambience. It's not like you're actually cold, right?

He slowly raised his hand up, and looked at it. He still had his gloves on; his entire environmental gear actually. And yet, he couldn't feel the thrum of the mini power cell, or feel the circulating heat. Was he that numb from the cold?

Reaching out, he picked up a chess piece and clumsily, slowly moved it. As he moved it, he noticed that the pieces on his side of the board were made of dark blue-black stone, laced with pale blue crystal. The rival pieces were inverse of that; crystalline blue, laced with black flaws. His hand eventually lowered, placing the pawn on a square.

It looked like the game had been going on for a bit before he lost his train of thought. Pieces had moved around the board, and a few were taken off on both sides. "Your move... I think."

The figure across from him smiled coolly and leaned forward to delicately pick up a knight, moving it equally as slowly. For some reason, he couldn't really focus on their features. He could see that smile through the blowing, dark snow, but he couldn't SEE the person. Only a shifting shadow, roughly proportioned like a human.  Or was it a Charr? No wait, a Norn?... The shadow just kept shifting. Were they a man? A woman? His eyes just wouldn't focus properly. Who do you expect to sit there, hmm?

Honestly, from the voice, he thought that it was a woman. But... it could just as easily have been a man with a soft voice. It was so hard to tell. But the part of him did think it was a woman? A woman?....

There was a quiet chuckle, and as the figure's hand placed the knight, the blowing snow and darkness seemed to retreat a bit. Now he could see, vaguely, who sat across from him. The frost on his glasses still obscured things, but he could see it was a woman.

She had piercing blue eyes that twinkled with cold mirth, and long, silvered hair that drifted in the suddenly gentle winds around just her side of the table; the wind on his side was whipping his hair around and threatened to tear his glasses from his face. Each gust blew more cold snow onto his gear. His leather coat was already rigid with sub-zero temperatures, creaking as he moved.

An archaic, rime-crusted heavy armor covered her from the neck down, but when she moved there was no sound of metal scraping metal. She still had an amused smile on her dark blue lips, and he could see that her skin was pale -- very pale. So pale, he could almost see blue veins beneath the surface.

"Ah, that's better. You can see a bit better now. It is your move again, friend." She gestured with a finger, revealling that the tips of her gloves were open. The nails of her fingers were a deep, icy blue, he noted dully.

"...why are we playing?" He asked, licking his lips. His voice was a bit hoarse. He moved a bishop to block the knight. Priests can't defend against the knight.

"To pass some time. It isn't often I can play a game with someone." She replied breezily. There was a moment, though, in her response that her voice took on a kind of echo. It was like the voice was reflected through a deep, cold tunnel, and was far deeper than it should have been...but only for a scant second. "I wished to chat with the man who created such powerful weapons. They are...impressive."

"...Didn't make'm." He mumbled, as he watched her flick the bishop he'd placed aside with a mere pawn. "Thought them up, but m'friends made them real. They're geniuses."

"That they are. But I can tell you have a wonderful imagination." She complimented, smiling. She watched as he moved another piece. "Some of the ideas are almost beyond belief."

As he pulled his hand from the piece, he rubbed his fingers together, realizing they were entirely numb. He started to rub his hands together, to warm them, before realizing his glasses had frosted over. Can't see properly... he thought sluggishly, pulling his specs off and trying to rub the frost off them.

"It is such a shame that you and your crew are so unappreciated." She said, sympathy coloring her words. "Each one of you... an outcast of one kind or another. Those without true homes, without a place to rest. And yet, you made your own place. You built that ship of yours...what was it's name again?" Tell me its name... tell me all about it...

"Aspect... It's called the Forsaken Aspect." He mumbled, still mindlessly rubbing his glasses with his glove tips. It wasn't working; every time his fingers rubbed the glass, instead of removing frost, it seemed even more grew in its place.

"What if I told you there was a place you could call home? Where you would be welcomed without question. Treated with care and love? Given the respect you've worked so hard for -- that you've all worked so hard for?" His opponent asked, leaning in and interlacing her fingers, resting her chin on her fingers. There was such regret in her eyes, such empathy that he could see even without his glasses, and it made him glance away for a moment.

He blinked dully, squinting through the blowing snow, his eyes unfocused without his eyewear. For just a moment, as the wind shifted, he thought he saw something. Where the woman sat, for a single second, something monstrous crouched. Something so massive he couldn't properly see it at all; the storm hid almost all of it, leaving shadow behind. But...did he see that? Or was he just seeing things in the snow?

"If I offered you such a place, would you come? A place to belong, for you and your crew?" She swirled a finger idly around one of the pieces taken off the table on her side; a castle battlement. "Verula has no Legion anymore... she's not welcome in her own homeland. But she'd be welcome with us. She'd find friends, warbandmates here... "

Her finger traced over to a smaller piece, and she rolled it between her fingers. "Poor little Tenna; so scared of death that she's gone to such extremes. I could help ease her fear... show her that fear is misplaced... All I want is for her to smile without fear and without sadness."

She moved her finger, and touched a fallen priest piece, and spot of frost expanded from beneath it, shaping into a delicate flower shape. "Moryggan... grandchild of an Elder Dragon... She nearly lost her mind, didn't she?" You told me all about it... "If only she came to talk with me. I could heal her mental wounds in a manner even her own Mother could not..."

He blinked slowly, mesmerized by her fingers as she gently caressed every piece she touched. There was an almost sensuous way she ran her fingers over each piece. It almost felt wrong to watch, and he glanced away to look at her directly.

And that's when he felt something was wrong. Something was wrong with his eyes, how he could see. It sent an alarm bell through him, which was almost immediately muted by his tiredness. The woman was still there; he could see her. But... if he shifted his focus a bit, let his eyes defocus even more, she melted away, and he could see that thing. But it kept fading away... Wait, what was he looking at again? Do not pay attention to that. The board calls for your attention instead. "Something wrong?" "...Snow's playing tricks on me..." He muttered, putting his still-frosted glasses on. His efforts had been in vain; the hoarfrost had actually expanded across the lenses. Everything was blurred. He could barely see her sitting there. Seeing does not matter.

"Ah, yes... storms can be funny that way. Make you think you're seeing something that isn't there." She replied, reaching out to move her piece on the board and removing one of his from his vanguard. "Oh such a shame... that was a poor move! You've lost your other priest piece."

"Damn..." He frowned at the board. It looked wrong. Were his pieces in those spots before? He couldn't remember. Of course they're in the right positions. There were so many openings now. She could take his Monarch in only a few moves if he didn't fix his defense. Do not worry about that now. Focus on the offense, not the defense.

Making the next move was more difficult. His fingers were so numb he could barely close them around the piece, and his arm was so heavy. So tired. Hard to move. It is alright. It is all... alright....When he went to move it, his exhalation made even more frost on his glasses, and the board all but disappeared. "...I can barely see..."

"Would you like me to help you?" She asked politely. It was said lightly, almost hopefully... but he could hear something like hunger behind it. It was an offer....but it was also a command. Do I want her help?....Do I.... Help... want...

"I..." His fingers finally gave out, and the piece dropped from them, clicking on the icy board. A sharp gust of cold wind and snow swept over the board, over his opponent, and over him.

"Come now... Everyone needs help some time." His opponent purred, leaning forward, chin on one sharp-nailed hand. Her blue eyes glittered coldly. "Even I require help some times. If I were to ask you, would you help me? I can help you if you help me...."

He couldn't manage a word; his mouth was so cold, his lips so dry from the cold. It felt like there was a slug of ice in his throat. Everything was cold, and numb. Cold is good. Can't feel pain when you are numb. The cold strengthens.

She gave him a smug smile, and reached for the board, the snowy wind flashing away in an instant. "Here, let me move that piece for you. You were going to move it right....here?...."

Her puzzled tone caught his attention, and he slowly glanced up at her, at the board. The frost on his glasses had lessened enough that he could see the confused, irritated look on her face. The pursed blue lips, the fine eyebrows drawn together in consternation. Letting his eyes droop to the board, he could see the piece he'd moved... was standing upright on the board in the correct spot, blocking her advance.

It seemed different than he remembered. The color was off. It...wasn't just blue-black stone anymore. There was a slight, sickly green tinge to the blue. As he watched, a swirl of black wisped off the piece.

His opponent stared at the piece, as if it shouldn't be there. Her voice stopped being conversational and pleasant; it became icy and hard, tight with tension. "....I know that wasn't where you meant to put that. So I'll just move it for you."

She went to pluck the piece with her index finger and thumb...only for her fingers to slide off it as she went to lift it. A single sound escaped her; one of surprise, as she came away empty handed.

The surprise lasted only a moment. She growled and something much bigger, much darker growled with her from the shadows. Again, she gripped the piece, this time with her whole hand, and tried to pull the piece up.

It would not move. The black, smokey aura on the piece just grew stronger, spreading to a few of the other pieces. It actually reached across the board and surrounded each of the fallen pieces the opponent had been toying with just moments ago. Once it surrounded them, it started to pull them slowly across the board, until they were safely behind that central piece, with its wisping darkness.

"You don't play fair." A whispery voice came from everywhere and nowhere.

"...Who are you?...." His opponent stood up, glaring around at the storm. Her eyes darted around, piercing the snowstorm like lasers, gleaming with icy rage. "You are not part of this game..."

"You change the game... to suit you. You change the pieces. The places. You cheat." The voice said sourly, getting closer. It sounded like it was off to his right.

His opponent clenched her fists, that ultrabasso growl coming both simultaneously from her, and not from her. "This is MY game. Mortals play by MY rules. How dare you intrude."

He felt a hand come down on his shoulder, and then another on his other shoulder. Letting his head loll a bit, he caught a momentary glimpse of a hand, swathed in swirling black, before it faded away from view, leaving a translucence. There was something familiar to it.

"I could feel you enter his dreams." The voice said from directly behind him. It was soft, but there was dark anger in it. "Twisting them away from what they should have been."

"What do you want." The icy woman hissed, planting her blue-nailed hands on the tabletop, her nails digging into the surface surprisingly deep. It was like she had ice picks for nails. The storm around her seemed to grow in violence, edging closer behind her until she stood on the border of it. Swirling blue-black storm clouds, with razored strips of blowing ice and snow surrounded the table and its occupants. And there was again, that sensation of something in that storm. Something unseen... but immense, and very, very close. "You don't belong here any more than I do."

"I want... you gone from his mind." The voice replied thoughtfully, and he felt the hands sliding up his neck on either side, to gently hold his face along his jawline and temples. "Stay out and do not come back. Your offers aren't wanted."

"He WILL come to me." The woman hissed again, her composure cracking, the beauty flaking away as her face transformed into one of the most vicious expressions of wrath he'd seen in a long time. From his view, everything seemed to crack between the two players, like a pane of glass, or a pane of clear ice.

Fractures ran across his view; some shards reflected himself, sitting in the chair, his visitor unseen behind him.

Some showed him on his feet, shod in icy armor, a dead blue glow emanating from his half-closed eyes.

Some let the image of the angry blue woman through, where she bashed new cracks and spiderwebs on the barrier between them with her icy fists, each new fracture containing its own shard-image...

The rest showed pieces of something huge, intensely angry, and immensely powerful. "He will SERVE."

"No. He won't." The hands holding his head began to grip tighter, until it was almost painful. Then it became actually painful, as he felt something sharp in each finger's tip dig into his skin. He let out a pained noise, short and sharp. The cracks in his vision fractured let again, destroying any image he could see; it was all ice shards and broken dimension, broken facets. "None of us will. Do not return."

There was a sudden, hot pulse from each finger, and he began to yell as he felt something being forced into his skin, into his head....

***

Cyrus snapped awake with a gasp, on the verge of hyperventilating with terror. He could still feel the hands gripping his face, and that pain of....

As his vision swam into focus, he realized immediately that all he could see were two glowing, blue eyes directly in front of him, so close he could almost not see the face of the person sitting on his chest.

After a moment, he calmed down enough that the rest of his brain began to snap into gear. He knew those eyes. He knew that slightly bitter smell...

"....Novni?" He rasped breathlessly, before realizing that his mouth and throat were intensely dry and hoarse. "What are you...?"

The glow in Novni's eyes began to fade, and she blinked, slowly sitting back, as if waking up. With exaggerated care she removed her hands from his face, revealing that the tips of her fingers had each grown an individual thorn through the bandages she habitually wore on their tips. A dark brown fluid seeped from the tips, and were actually staining his bedclothes.

"You were having a bad dream." She said simply. Holding her hands up, she retracted those thorns. "I could 'see' you having a dream... something was forcing you to dream. It...wanted something."

"Dream?... wanted something?..." Cyrus tried to remember. The dream was already fading away, but there was something. What was it? Why was he so cold?

He reached out, plucking his glasses off the side table and getting them on with numbed fingers. Cold fingers. Why was it so damned cold in here?

"What...What did you?..." He paused, feeling his heartbeat still racing in his chest, even as he took calming breaths. It wasn't working. "It feels like I just ran a race..."

"I had to wake you up." Novni said quietly, and held her fingers up for him to see. To see where the thorns had been, but now were just marked by that brown fluid. It almost looked like she'd grown individual rose thorns from each finger, only... "I put a special poison in. It makes you wake up, and your blood flow faster and stuff."

"Are you saying you injected me with adrenalin or something?" He coughed, feeling his heart starting to slow down...a bit. The rush was ending quickly but everything about him felt sped up; was whatever it was, it was wearing off, but not very quickly. "Or...was it caffiene? I mean, plants make caffiene to keep pests away, and it opens blood vessels, which might explain why I feel cold right now, but maybe there was something else; my heart is beating really fast and I just don't--"

Cyrus realized he was babbling, getting distracted, and he was forgetting why she had injected him. Why she was even there. He stared at her, and she stared back, blinking in curiosity. He took a long, slow breath, before speaking again. "....Novni, why are you in my quarters?" He asked slowly.

"You were in a bad dream. It was trying to distort you." She replied, tipping her head to the side and considering him. "I felt its mind reaching to you, and you were starting to reach back. It would have been bad if you had."

For a split second, he recalled the image he'd seen reflected in one of the shards, before the dream had imploded. A vision of himself, in dark, ice-crusted armor. His face had been unnaturally pale and severe, and his normally grey-blue eyes had shone with a brighter, but empty blue luster. Just that momentary memory sent a chill entirely unrelated to the cold in the room through him.

As if in response, Novni shivered a bit. "It's cold."

So she felt the cold too? Maybe it wasn't just his mind playing tricks on him? It wasn't a reaction to whatever she'd injected him with? Cyrus pulled his comm unit from the bedside table. A quick glance at the wall mounted comm-unit had told him it'd be useless; There was actually a thick layer of what appearred to be ice misting over it, sealing it shut and non-functional. Glancing around the room, he realized everything was covered in hoarfrost, even his bedsheets; how low was the temperature even?

He clicked on the portable unit, and immediately called out. "Aspect? Alice? Verula? Anyone?"

The Aspect's voice was the first to come through. "Cyrus. Are you alright? I cannot access the wall unit in your quarters. There's been an anomaly I'm at a loss to explain."

"Aspect, wake the others if they're asleep, and let them know we're shifting locations." He spoke rapidly, frowning. "Set a course to the south, away from the Shiverpeaks. If any Pact ship questions us, either make an excuse and fake whatever you need to, or just Mistwarp us out. But don't keep us in the Mists either. Short jumps only. Leapfrog us away; don't linger in the Mists for longer than a few seconds. I don't care how much power it uses. If we have to stop and recharge the jump engines at some point; I don't care."

He muttered to himself, unheard by the A.I. "....limit our exposure in the Mists."

"Understood...for the most part." Aspect replied, confusion coloring its voice. "What do you wish me to tell the crew?"

"Tell them that we're not safe sitting here. That the Aspect and all of us are at risk. Psychological assault, beyond the defenses we have. We have nothing I can think of to block it." He paused, mind still racing, but pieces of thoughts were falling into place. "Aspect... Do you have the plans for the Psi-blocker in your files? The device Scarlet made? I know we don't have a functional unit, but is there enough data on it to manufacture something like it?"

"I am afraid not." It replied regretfully. "The device Scarlet made, and the half-built one you used on Moryggan... I have partial data on both, but not a complete design. It would take some time to expand the design and finish it, and fully understand what Scarlet had actually made. It is rather....fascinating. She truly was a genius ahead of her times. It will take a long time to run it through simulations alone."

"How long until you understand its full function? Rough estimate? And raise the temperature in my quarters to Maguuma temperature, please. Repairs authorised if the heater is....damaged..."

"Heater activated. It was set to -4: the equivalent of a shiverpeak summer morning. There is no record of the temperature being changed, but it was somehow changed. As to the device -- rough estimate to understand its function and build a facsimile based on current data is six months. Any other extrapolations beyond a helmet design will take longer."

"Six months? Really?" He was surprised. Was the design that intricate? That 'out there'? Once again he was struck with how smart Ceara had been. "Fine... keep studying it, and when you can make its technology, try to make some kind of shield out of it. Personal shield if you can, but I want you to focus on it being an upgrade to the current shipwide shields. We can always find a way to downsize a larger device if we can make it."

He shivered, and tried to pull the blankets up further, but that didn't work because of Novni sitting on his legs. "If we can size-up the Psi-blocker to shipwide, I'm hoping we can prevent more... any... psychic-based attacks."

"Understood. Analysis clock time will be doubled when I have the cycles, and I will make it a priority. Moving the Aspect to Bloodtide Coast. I am currently faking a damaged engine, and leaking the appropriate smoke and fuels. Pact HQ is.... Well, they're distracted at the moment, it seems. I recieved authorization to pull back until repairs are completed almost immediately. There are a few Dominion helicopters closing on us.As soon as we clear some more mountains, I will bring them down and put us in full cloak until we reach the coast. Request permission to exterminate the helicopters to ensure no witnesses?"

"Thank you Aspect." He sighed, and rubbed the bridge of his nose. It was hard to focus; coming out of sleep so suddenly was like hitting a brick wall, and what with his scrambled thoughts, erratic heartbeat, and how he was still panting for breath... "Permission granted. If you have to drop the Illusion field to engage them, just make sure the Pact doesn't see us, and make sure as hell those copters don't leave survivors. Lethal parameters authorized."

"Understood. Thirty seconds to safe distance. Will engage at forty-five seconds."

It took a moment, but he finally had to deal with the elephant in the room. Or rather... the sylvari in the room. "Novni... While I'm rather glad you came and helped me escape that 'bad dream' by giving me whatever you gave me... A question arises."

"Hmm?" She had been sitting there quietly through his chat with the ship.

"How did you get into my quarters? I know I locked my door." He pointed out, idly indicating the still-shut-and-locked door.

"I Walked in." She told him simply.

"You walked in?"

Novni shook her head. "Not 'walked in'. I Walked in."

As an example, she flickered into a spectral state, and seemed to split into two. One Novni stayed sitting on the bed, while the other got up, crossed the room without taking a step, and slid like smoke through the frames and joints of the door. Both Novnis were linked by ghostly, spectral, warping trails, like space was being distorted by her passage. After a moment, that Novni slid back into the room, waved lightly, and then zipped back to the one on the bed, and both became whole and physical again. "See?"

It made an unsettling amount of sense. What barrier is a door to a spirit? Yet another Necromancer trick. "Ah. Yes. I see. You Walked in."

She grinned and bounced a bit, happy that she had been understood. Or perhaps that she'd been clever. "Your room is cold. It liked the cold."

Cyrus frowned. "Yes. It did. And you stopped it from doing...what it was doing to me. Thank you."

He took a shuddering breath, and shook his head. "Gods above and below... I don't think I'm going to be able to get back to sleep. My heart is still racing."

"I can fix that." Novni said simply, and reached out a single finger, poking him in the chest.

"What, what do you mean you can-- OW!" He flinched, and stared down at where she poked him. It was only when he did so that he realized she'd extruded another needle-spine, another venom-filled cactus-like spike, as thin as a hair, from her fingertip, and had jabbed him. Jabbed him and was holding her finger there, as she pumped whatever it was into him.

He could feel the injection as a kind of hot rush flashing outward from the poke, but there was nothing he could do to stop it. Even the anti-Miasma poison-nullifier in him was affected. In the few seconds since she poked him, he could see the glowing green veins flare up at the prescence of the venom...and then go quiescent. As they did, the numbness spread.

"What did..." His eyes fluttered as it hit his nervous system. "Novni, whut di-d yuu...."

And then all the lights went out; like a puppet with his strings cut, Cyrus flopped back onto the bed in a dead, deep sleep. Novni kept her finger in place for a few seconds more, to make sure he was utterly out, before pulling the finger-needle out, wiping the single blot of blood from his chest, and pulling the blanket up to his neck.

As an afterthought, she repositioned his head, fluffing the pillow up to make sure it was comfortable, and then sat back watching him sleep. By this time, he'd started to snore quietly.

From under the blankets off to the side, Dangles poked his nose out and looked from his master to Novni, curious. She shrugged at him. "He'll sleep deep now. The Sneaky One won't be able to get to him... I think."

She pursed her lips, thinking. A moment later, she nodded, apparently having come to a decision. Novni then pulled the big cat over closer, and pulled the comforter over herself as well, so she was covered up. She wasn't under the sheets, but she was close enough to be comfortable.

Dangles just murphed as he was dragged over, but easily repositioned himself for better snuggling, and gave in to being a cat and immediately started to snooze again.

Novni herself wrapped an arm around him, and curled up with her head on Cyrus's blanket-covered chest, and closed her eyes. She listened to his slow breathing, and smiled. "I'll watch from the Other side... Make sure it doesn't get him."

And then she too, was out like a light.