#voidcraft

[feelinprettyblue02]

building a multilayer maze for voidcraft. the first 2 layers are 18x18 chunks, and the 3rd layer is predicted to be 23x23 chunks. i’m not gonna have a fun time building it on the server

[dykepuffs]

Every time I get on a train I wish I had the ability to just get on a train at any time, without necessarily going anywhere, just enjoying being on a train.

How could you not love it, especially if the weather outside is cold and grey, and the carriage is nearly empty, and you can just sit in this glowing tube and watch the landscape flicker past.

Or on really bright days where the sun streams in and it feels like everything outside is a display being put on for the benefit of you watching it.

Or when it's totally dark and it feels like being on some kind of voidcraft, with everything you need on board.

[historicrad39a]

3. Frontier Rescue Rangers

Previous

Unnamed system - 135ly from Earth

Frontier Rescue Rangers Carrier Zuikaku after action report: July 13th 2538

It had been a month since the Human-Tathrax alliance had been attacked by an unknown alien civilization (henceforth known as the “Theta Aliens”). Whilst there was an initial panic about possible follow up attacks, it wasn’t until yesterday that we had any further contact. A small exploration vessel surveying systems just outside of Alliance space had been ambushed and captured by the Theta Aliens. Due to the proximity to frontier space, and the fact that this was a rescue mission, the Frontier Rescue Rangers were dispatched.

Two months ago, had you told me I would make history by being the first half-human half-Tathrax to command of one of the admiralty’s newest and largest carriers, with two brand new Kongō-class Fast Battleships (specifically modified for Frontier Defense fleet use) in tow as the head of a squadron with more firepower than the entire Frontier Defense Fleet up until that point - especially for a rescue mission of all things - I would have called you crazy. In fact, once the FDS Frontier’s captain, Zack, told me he was planning to request the admiralty’s newest toys, I called him an idiot. He had asked me if, assuming he succeeded, I would want to command one of the new ships - and if so, which type. I told him, somewhat jokingly, that I wanted to be in command of a massive voidcraft carrier. Come two weeks later and the Shōkaku-class carrier Zuikaku has been delivered to us direct from Akatsuki Shipyards, with myself named as her captain.

Unlike most people in the Frontier Defense fleet, I was here willingly. My parents were explorers, and when I was a young girl I frequently accompanied them on their journeys. On one such journey, we were in the AR Scorpii system preparing to return home when one of the relativistic beams from the system’s White Dwarf just barely skimmed by our ship. The hyperdrive went haywire and within a matter of seconds we ended up at the outer edge of the MilkyWay - having just travelled some 26,300ly in under 20 seconds. Hyperspace has a maximum speed limit of ~1 light year per second, most ships can only manage a light year per ten seconds at most. Yet somehow we managed to move at some 1,000 light years per second.

We were stranded for around a week in a near functionless ship slowly starving to death before we heard the distinct roar of a large vessel approaching in hyperspace. The Rescue Rangers had successfully requisitioned the Casablanca-class carrier ship Gambier Bay and made the week-long trip out here non-stop. Needless to say I was greatly inspired by their bravery and decided I would become a Rescue Ranger when I grew up.

By the time I was of eligible age to join the Rescue Rangers, things had rapidly deteriorated. When I was a child, the hyperdrive was just barely 50 years old. But by the time I had joined it was nearing 70 years old. Consequently, random failures, mis-jumps, and fuel exhaustion due to unpredictable fuel usage were all but things of the past. The Rescue Rangers weren’t nearly as crucial anymore, and as a result in my 2nd year the Rescue Rangers were disbanded as an independent branch and the remnants were folded into the Frontier Defense Fleet. Along with our independence, almost all of our ships were taken - including the carrier Gambier Bay I so desperately wanted to serve on.

Eight years later and the Frontier Rescue Rangers did little more than refuel stranded ships that had misjudged their remaining fuel. That is, until a month ago, when the Frontier Rescue Rangers were suddenly given 30 modified Fletcher class destroyers along with the promises of several capital ships and a massive budget increase. In addition to our normal duties, we were to combat the alien threat and rescue any individuals captured by them.

My first mission in command of the FDCV Zuikaku was to lead a task force of 18 vessels to rescue some captured explorers. As it would turn out, this was overkill. In addition to the Zuikaku we had the FDBB Hiei and Haruna - two modified Kongō-class battle cruisers which had been re-designated as Fast Battleships - and fifteen Ted Fujita-class Destroyers (modified Fletcher-class). While the main armament on the Kongōs and the torpedo launchers on the Ted Fujitas were of Alliance design, the 23cm double-barreled turrets were created using borrowed technology from the Theta Aliens.

The aliens, on the other hand, had a mere five cruisers guarding the transport vessel holding the captured explorers. The 40cm guns on the Hiei and Haruna and the Samuel B. Robert’s four 720mm torpedos practically atomized the cruisers. The Hiei’s 76cm “crew incapacitation” rounds also proved to be complete overkill. Of the three rounds fired at the transport, one hit the engines, one atomized the fuel tanker behind the transport, and the third round penetrated into the reactor room before detonating. We had included extra oxidizer in the bursting charge in case the ship’s atmosphere limited the spread of fires.

This turned out not to be the case, as the third shell set almost the entire ship’s insides on fire - killing 60% of the crew instantly. Frankly, we got lucky. Via neural implants on one of the explorers we knew they were locked inside a holding cell of sorts, but it’s very likely that had the “crew incapacitation” round been any more powerful there may have been no explorers left to rescue. Needless to say I’m prohibiting the use of these rounds until they can be fixed.

The boarding action was also very successful - there was not a single Alliance casualty during the firefight. One of the commandos transferred from the Anti-piracy force was quite amused at the 600 year old M2 Browning machine guns the Frontier Defense Force had been issued, and apparently thought it would be hilarious to bring it as his primary weapon. As it turns out, despite being 600 years old at this point, the M2 Browning was extremely effective - so much so that we have received no fewer than twenty requests to make the M2 Browning part of the standard loadout.

In terms of our primary objective, we were a bit too successful. Our orders were “to rescue as many of the five captured individuals as possible from the Theta Aliens.” When all was said and done, we had achieved a 1700% success rate - having rescued 85 of the 5 individuals captured. In addition to this, we had made first contact with three additional alien species aside from those comprising the Alliance. As it had turned out, the explorers we were sent to rescue had made friends - and upon being rescued, they demanded that we take on all 80 of the other individuals onboard the vessel. Leave it to the humans to make friends wherever they go…

Naturally, I was opposed to this request - we had nowhere near the resources necessary to care for 80 additional people, let alone 80 individuals from a variety of species we knew nothing about. It wasn’t until the explorers’ captain, Hanako, threatened to refuse rescue that I finally relented. Such is the stubbornness of humans. This is the same species that, upon seeing my Mother’s (recent) ancestors in person for the first time - a species known for being an apex predator - said “Awww, they look like kitties!” Before attempting to pet their heads, followed by sulking when my mother’s ancestors refused to allow it. I suppose it’s the human blood that flows through my veins that makes it hard to be too mad at them.

In any case, one individual was of particular interest to us due to Hanako’s claims that she had communicated with them. Naturally, we were skeptical. We had barely made any progress on decoding the Theta Aliens’ language after a month, it seemed impossible that a human could communicate with a completely different alien species after less than a day. Imagine our surprise when the alien spoke (admittedly limited, and broken) English.

I quickly discovered the secret behind their supernatural ability to learn languages, it was quite literally “supernatural” in nature. They are capable of communicating telepathically, and on rare occasions they can communicate with individuals from different species. This ability is extremely limited however, as there are many complications associated with communicating with an individual who does not share a language, and most individuals are not compatible. We had the individual attempt to communicate with everyone on the Zuikaku, and of the Human and Tathrax crew, only Hanako could hear them.

Despite this limitation, this individual would likely be very useful. According to Hanako, the individual served as a diplomat for some time, and knew many languages as a result. In addition to this, they knew a lot about the Theta Aliens (who they referred to as something like K’Lagreth). This would no doubt be extremely useful, both for information gathering, and for deciphering the Theta Aliens’ language. Given how none of the 1,500 some crew on the Zuikaku were compatible with the individual’s ability, it’s nothing short of a miracle that any of the five captured explorers were compatible.

Before returning to the Frontier to refuel and rearm, we decided to ask the individual for their name, as referring to them as “the/that alien,” or “the/that individual” was quite tiresome. Unfortunately, neither human nor tathrax vocal chords could actually pronounce their name, and I’m not certain that letters exist in any alliance language that could accurately transcribe it. In addition, their name was long, very long. Assuming that any of us could even pronounce it, most would struggle to remember. However, humans will do as humans will do, and upon hearing a part of their name that sounded vaguely like “Gregg,” the humans immediately took to calling them by that name. I suppose referring to them as “Gregg” is easier than referring to them in the 3rd person all the time…

After (slowly) providing basic accommodations for the numerous species onboard, we prepared to depart on the return journey to the Frontier. Due to the limited bandwidth for FTL communications, our transmission to the Frontier was extremely limited (speeds capped out at around 12 bits per second). This meant that most of the details regarding our new guests could not be included. I’m sure that Zack will be happy to hear that he’ll need to fill his precious space station with a wide variety of flammable gases, toxic gases, and strong oxidizers in order to provide for our unexpected rescuees.

Moving forward, the admiralty will need to make a decision on how to proceed from here. Clearly, the Alliance aren’t the only ones threatened by the Theta aliens. If Gregg’s reports are to be believed, the Theta Aliens have subjected no fewer than ten different civilizations, possibly more. They also noted that the exact location of the Theta Aliens’ homeworld is unknown to most, if not all outsiders. Originally our goal was to protect Alliance interests from the Alien threat, and negotiate a ceasefire as soon as possible. However, I now feel this is unlikely to work. The Mylr’s (Gregg’s species) were supposedly able to fend off the Theta Aliens for some time, but eventually, they too fell.

I feel a military campaign is necessary. There is much we could learn from these captured civilizations, and depriving the Theta Aliens of their resources, both living and non-living, would make it very unlikely that they could continue to attack us. In addition, it would ultimately be beneficial for us to free those countless individuals who are suffering at the hands of the Theta Aliens… Y’know, from a objective standpoint of course. Definitely nothing as ambiguous or illogical as feeling moral obligation to help them just because they’re in need. Nothing like that at all.

In any case, the sooner we can get the individuals we rescued back to their homeworlds, the better. While it’s true they were no longer in what could only be described as slavery, they hadn’t exactly returned to a normal life either. It would be best for them to return to their homeworlds. But as those homeworlds were supposedly under occupation, it would be hard to just bring them back and expect things to turn out fine.

I’ll chat with Zack about this once we return. I’m unwilling to just abandon the individuals we rescued today, and I’m sure Zack will feel the same (once he’s done complaining about having to fill the Frontier with a variety of dangerous gases). I don’t care how long or what it takes, but I swear on my ancestors that we will wage total war against the Theta Aliens - and we will free those unduly oppressed by them. Even if the admiralty refuses my plan, I will not allow the Theta Aliens to exploit any civilization any longer. The Theta Aliens’ empire’s collapse begins today.

Log end

Hey y’all. So as it turns out I’m physically incapable of sticking to schedules, so here’s this entry a day or so early. The next entry will probably be from Gregg’s perspective and may end up being a bit shorter (although I’ve thought this about literally every chapter so far) as it won’t be as focused on the larger plot. It will be a little more in the spirit of “humans are fucking weird” as it deals with Gregg adapting to the *ahem* oddities of living with humans.

Depending on how long it is, the next chapter/intermission may come out as early as next week. Like I said, apparently I’m incapable of sticking to a schedule. In the meantime, thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed it. See y’all in anywhere from a few days to two weeks!

~Rad

[jggmgms]

Tearing people out of their voidcraft and flinging them into hardvac is a lot more fun than I thought it would be

There's not usually anything to stop them so you can laugh at the flailing for longer

[bleaksqueak]

Okay! I said I'd do a quick little tut for the chromatic aberration effect to the anon who asked, so here you go. Above is the raw panel, so from here, you'll be duplicating the canvas/panel by choosing "Copy Canvas" from the wrench button. Once copied, paste it into your folder and select the layer options to turn on Clipping Mask to your base panel. If doing the whole canvas, you can just paste as-is

I prefer to duplicate it once in preparation and then again each time I make a change, that way the effect can be toggled on /off or have its opacity lowered to mix with a previous effect if needed. From there, select the magic wand/effects and adjustments menu and click on Add Noise. Important: Pretend I took a screenshot of the drop-down menu, because rats must keep up appearances.

I prefer clouds with maximum octaves and low-no turbulence at a fine scale... however, play with the options and find one you like (or don't use it at all! I like the grain for a mild texture and for harmonizing the art's elements, especially on quick panels or rougher drawings.) I'm going at about 5% here. Just enough to give the desired effect, but not too much.

Once it's to your liking, duplicate your canvas/layer and select your new layer to work off of. On the magic wand menu again, select Chromatic Aberration.

We're working with the displace method, so select that instead of Perspective.

In procreate, the tool works by shifting your cursor in the direction you prefer at the distance you want. I never travel far, and I often use the warm/cold to play off of a reverse of my light source colors. I do that just to create a softened edge and a subtle color pop. Just like with the added noise, I keep the effect on a more subtle side often. Blurring at around 5 - 12 % will give your lines a soft glow and get rid of any (say, hideous pencil lines that you use as inks because you hate inking. Not that I do that. Not me.) Transparency can be bumped up or left alone, does what it says on the tin and strengthens the effect or subdues it.

Now, you might find some important detail is now too hazy? Too blurry? Too CHROMBERRATED? If so, gently erase what you want to be crisp. For Maia here, I just erased the front hair curls and her eyelashes.

Keep it or erase it, it's up to you. Play around and see what you like. Now, once all is said and done, and you like the effect, adding a few specular pops of light on a new layer can aid with bringing back in some focal points. Eye color, rim lighting, or just a couple of little metallic flecks. I use the light pen tool for this when feeling lazy, but you can use any brush you like, either on a raw Normal layer or on any of the light adjugement style layers. I chose a pale green to compliment the warm, red hues and balance the bluish shadow in her hair. Just a tiny little speck on her glasses, lips and on the rim light of her nose just to keep the anchor points of her face clear. Don't over do it (unless you want to, in that case, by all means, the light is yours to command.)

And that's the final. Hidden in the darkest shadows of voidcraft, I applied a textured brush to my canvas on Overlay because I do that for every comic page. Except for those that I forget, may their tears one day dry.

I hope that helps! The effect is subtle on this panel, but the desired effect to soften and marry the art, thus fooling the viewer's eye into thinking I super meticulously rendered this with careful prim and polish, is achieved! Hooray!

[asklordcaptaincastronova]

She gingerly sits in the chair. A techpriest begins attaching plugs to the port on the nape of her neck and her face tries to remain impassive as the machine spirits connects to her.

She does wince, barely. It's not the same as connecting to a voidcraft or aeronutica. Or even a gunnery station. Carefully, she tries to maintain an air of detached calm, perhaps even boredom.

This chair was not designed to slouch in.

She pulls a console over. Then another. Not looking at them directly, information cascades over her eyes, and she tries to catch up.

Firmware? Why did every machine spirit complain about unupdated firmware? Well, the Grouper's armor was firm enough.

Anastasia fidgeted in her chair. The Grouper was by no means ready to get underway. But it was time to leave the proverbial creche.

Now to expunge the ice in her gut and focus on the thrills of... sitting in spacedock.

[cursed-40k-thoughts]

It’s a titan-class voidcraft that is utilised in-atmosphere as both a troop carrier and an anti-titan/superheavy weapon. It can deploy, from upper atmosphere (it has anti-gravity systems to control descent and hover ability in atmosphere) in order to cruise above enemy forces/structures and shoot the everloving shit out of them.

[parchmentleaves]

Lady Essiala Ariathia ban Vor'cle

No game this week, so a brief entry about Lady Essiala instead. Who is the lady behind this journal? Linked above or copy-pasted below.

Lady Essiala Ariathia Sorjiik den Morgenstern ban Vor’cle is the Navigator Primaris of the void-ship Gloriosa Lux Misericordiae Imperialis, a role she has held for just over a standard decade. She is a bookish and reserved woman who prefers the solitude of her library to the hubbub of human interactions, and uses her noble bearing as a mask to conceal her terrors and inner loneliness.

Child of Vor’cle

Essiala is a scion of House Vor’cle, an ancient and vaunted House of the Navis Nobilite that eschews sector and planetary politics in favour of broad-ranging interests and connections throughout the Imperium of Man, including at the very heights of power. Vor’cle Navigators guide ships of nobility, adepta of the mighty Adeptus Terra, Rogue Traders, and even the dreaded Inquisition. The House maintains its own fleet of void-clippers – fast courier voidcraft that crisscross Sectors, Segmenta and even the Imperium itself bearing information too dense, complex or secure to risk astropathic communication, as well as individuals wishing swift and unobtrusive transport across the stars.

She was born on one of these void-clippers, the lean and ancient Morgenstern, and is a child of an esteemed and stable gene-lineage that has been free of genomic instability for over a millenium. Children of the Sorjiik lineage tend to a greater height, leanness of build and paleness of skin than even most void-born, with many also possessing entirely black eyes well-suited to finding even the fainest of lights in the darkness of the void. Essiala shows all these traits and, like many children of her line, prefers her quarters set to lower local gravity and dimmer lumination than ship standard.

House Vor’cle is less hidebound than many great magisterial Houses of the Navis Nobilite who might rely on their breeding and connections to secure contracts of navigation. The Vor’cle instead educate their scions and inculcate a deep curiosity about the universe into them. They in turn record everything that they encounter on their long-ranging travels across and beyond the Imperium and send their reports back to the House archives, where they may be used to further the obectives of the House and its allies. This cavalier disregard for the virtue of ignorance has led to multiple long term feuds between the House and factions of the Ecclesiarchy.

Dark Apprenticeship

Decades of scholarship and apprenticeship taught Essiala well the lessons of her House. She served as a Navigatrix Tertius and learned the practicalities of navigation aboard multiple ships with distinction and no issue save for a short-lived daliance with a bright-eyed void-mistress that ended when Essiala ascended to the rank of Navigatrix Secundus and was assigned to the void-ship Revenance.

Her years aboard the Revenance took her into the Halo Stars beyond the frontiers of the Imperium. She saw strange aetheric phenomena and curious alien ruins, decimated remnants of fallen civilisations far older than that of Man, and steered the ship through terrible warp storms to find safe refuge in the light of the Astronomicon once more. An incident occured on one voyage where she had the honour of steering the ship while the Navigator Primaris was recovering from injuries following a skirmish with Orkish pirates. The ship’s Gellar field, likely suffering some minor damage in the prior engagement, fluctuated during a turbulent ana-surge within the Immaterium and something attempted to coalesce through the cracks into the Navis spire.

A shapeless darkness with a voice of ash and burning violet eyes appeared on before Essiala and begged for her to open disable the safeties on the Aciens Horrens, the heavily warded portal through which the Navigator views the Immaterium, and allow it inside. It offered power, knowledge, all the sweet temptations fit to lure her into obeying its pleas. She refused and, in a moment of righteous anger, tried to turn the power of her Third Eye on the blasphemous thing. The entity simply laughed in amusement and departed, leaving her with words.

“Such fire you have. And such fires you will see Beyond. Three and three and all will burn as bright as you. May they consume you by delightful degrees.”

Essiala found herself marked and shaken by this dreadful encounter. All food tastes of ash in her mouth and her dreams echo with the three-eyed entities mocking laughter. In response she threw herself into studying all she could find about such blasphemous foes, so that she might face and destroy the entity if she encountered it once more. And to this day she takes great care to maintain a personal shrine to the Emperor in her quarters, praying to Him on Earth and all His Saints each morning after a night of fitful, restless sleep.

Navigator of the Gloriosa Lux

The incident on the Revenance earned Essiala her elevation to the rank of full Navigatrix, after sufficient psychoexamination and deep testing to ensure that the entity had left no taint upon her soul. She was assigned to fulfil House Vor’cle’s contract of navigation with the Void-ghast Dynasty, an ancient rogue trader family now fallen from the heights of their past glories, and she assumed the duties of Navigator Primaris aboard the Void-ghast’s only true void-ship, the Sword-class frigate Gloriosa Lux Misericordiae Imperialis.

Lady Essiala worked well with the Gloriosa Lux and her Lord-Captain Eleazar Void-ghast, steering the vessel on nearly a dozen expeditions into into the wild space of the Koronus Expanse and bringing her home safely each time. Each voyage brought new wonders and new terrors, and always the subtlest hints of some meaning behind the words and the sinister laughter haunting her nightmares.

Lord Eleazar’s sudden and unexpected death upended everything. Gloriosa Lux was forced to return to anchorage, spending nearly a year in limbo waiting for the heir to the Dynasty, the Writ of Trade, and the Lord-Captaincy to be found. Essiala spent the time reading, writing notes for future memoirs, and attempting to make sense of her dreams. She could feel a pattern forming, though it was still too diffuse and subtle to fully grasp.

Finally, after interminable politics and delays of transit, Lazarus Void-ghast was declared Lord of the Dynasty and the Gloriosa Lux Misericordiae Imperialis has set sail once more into the Koronus Expanse…

[avkamfher]

I am very excited for the voidcraft series. Came for the T'au staying for the mecha eldar

[feelinprettyblue02]

so mentally ill over siegfried my good friend siegfried. they had 2 panic attacks in the span of 12 hours. appearance-wise, they are so aether-coded but stick solidly in neutral. they view themself as just a weapon and nothing more while everyone around them is like “jesus christ get this kid to THERAPY”. anyways siegfried <3

[sekhisadventures]

Ruins in Twilight

The Glittering Prize, late evening.

Mola’raum was doing his usual guard duties, watching the ship while his living allies slept away the night. Edwood was with him, but the forsaken man was poor company lately with his frustrations at Lord Lor’themar often becoming the focus of conversation. Mola’raum understood and indeed shared his desire to corner Alalestria somewhere and express his displeasure loudly and violently, but she was a powerful magister and would likely not wind up in such a situation where they could ambush and deal with her before she could bring her magic to bear and destroy them both.

As he leaned on the railing of the ship he saw someone coming towards the gangplank and smirked, waving to her. “Hey sistah! How’d ya huntin’ go?” he asked.

“Badly…” sighed Nankoz as she walked up onto the deck. “As far as I can tell, given what I felt on the traces of his aura, he’s hiding out in the Void.” she frowned. “I don’t know how we’re even supposed to chase him there! That void elf friend of yours is probably the only one who could even get to the right plane of reality for that, and he could be anywhere in that place!”

Mola’raum winced. “Oof… he be in de fookin’ shadow realm itself, eh?” he replied, shaking his head. “Ya sistah, I don’t got any suggestions dere. Mebbe when Nitika wakes up we can ask her, ya?”

Nankoz shrugged, “Worth a try…” she grunted.

However, unknown to them, Garnal and his allies weren’t in the Void at present…

After confirming the theft of the Dark Heart, Xal’atath had returned to the void in a state of rage. She had immediately sent her followers across Azeroth to sites where powerful events of voidcraft had taken place throughout history, ordering them to find the ethereals and reclaim what had been stolen from her.

Garnal, Xiaren, and Zul’zanza had been sent to the eastern kingdoms, to a place that had been warped by the power of the void, the elements there twisted into huge spires of metal and spikes that stood to this day.

The land known as the Twilight Highlands.

The Bastion of Twilight

The Bastion was never a good place to be, but it was in a state of advanced disrepair, some paths through it having even collapsed over the years since the Cataclysm.

Once it was the seat of power for the ogre Cho’gall, herald of the Old Gods and leader of the Twilight’s Hammer Cult, but he met his end at the hands of the adventurers of the day. Most of the cult scattered to the hills without their leader, fearing those powerful enough to slay the mighty ogre magi, and many of them rallied in Northrend at the fated Hour of Twilight.

Those who did were killed almost to a man by the defenders at Wyrmrest Temple, which included the members of Avalon and Savage United who stayed behind to protect the dragons there while the aspects and Thrall pursued Deathwing to the Maelstrom to finish off the maddened leader of the Black Dragonflight.

Through the ruined halls, past caved in hallways, and through the bones of the fallen cultists walked Garnal Blackice, the undead man clad in his voidtouched armor, the fanged plate mail more alive than it’s wearer.

Next to him was his partner in service to Xal’atath, the sha sorceress Xiaren. She was wearing her usual robes of swirling black and white, her mutilated eyes hidden behind a pair of smoked glasses. She didn’t need them anymore. She could use the eyes of the sha possessing her to see (though it always gave the odd sensation of looking over her own shoulder.)

On his other side, clad still in the traditional trollish garments he arrived on Khaz Algar in, was the witch doctor Zul’zanza… who had reacted to the elementium towers in the Highlands with several very vulgar words in trollish, though his companions could only assume on their vulgarity since neither of them could understand him.

Zul’zanza was miserable. He wanted to go back to the Stranglethorn Vale of the past, but without help he was stuck here. All he could do was hope that Xal’atath would keep up her end of the bargain. He helped her take the Azeroth of the present, she’d send him back to the Azeroth of the past once she had control of the world and its soul.

“So… what we be lookin’ for mon?” he asked, glancing at Garnal.

The death knight kept his gaze forward as he proceeded through the tunnels. “Mistress Xal’atath believes that the ethereals will need to charge the Dark Heart before they can use it for whatever task they have in mind.” When Alleria damaged the Dark Heart, a great amount of the energy it had absorbed had escaped, forcing Xal’atath to flee to the Void in the hopes that she could work some magic to contain what was left. After such a loss of power the Dark Heart would need to be refueled as it were.

Garnal continued, “This was the home of a powerful void user known as Cho’gall. He died here, and if his corpse is here then it may still carry some of the power he wielded. Its possible the ethereals will try to claim it. Our task is find Cho’gall’s remains, determine if it has power, and attempt to ambush any ethereals who come seeking it. If they have the Dark Heart, we kill them and recover it.”

Zul’zanza nodded, falling silent as he glanced around the ruins, his eyes narrowing. He couldn’t shake the feeling that someone was watching them.

He had grown up in Stranglethorn Vale and those who lived in the jungle would soon learn how to tell when a threat was nearby. If someone in the Vale didn’t know how to tell the difference between a shadow under the leaves and a hungry tiger then they didn’t last very long.

Xiaren knew that something was there, she could feel their thoughts (rather, her sha could,) but they were staying away for now so she didn’t care.

Finally, they came to a large throne room with a gaping hole in the floor, and near the hole was something that made Zul’zanza’s jaw drop, his eyes going wide behind his mask.

A huge skeleton of a massive creature with two heads, some small bits of rotten flesh still clinging to the bones.

“Da fook be dat mon?” he asked, pointing at it.

“Ah yes, you said you wound up here from before the Dark Portal opened…” nodded Garnal, “Zul’zanza, meet Cho’gall.” smirked the death knight, gesturing to the bones. “He was an ogre in life, though they were originally native to Draenor so they were after your time.”

Zul’zanza nodded slowly, reaching for his wand on his belt without really thinking about it as Xiaren walked towards the corpse.

She stood near it, then a mass of shadows rose up behind her as her sha took form. The voidspawn reached out a clawed hand to the bones, then hissed and vanished back into the pandaren as she shuddered.

“Nothing. The bones have no power at all, but only recently so. The sha can feel the echo of the Void here… Mistress Xal’atath was right, the ethereals are harvesting void essence, but we’re too late. They’ve already been and gone.” explained Xiaren, her voice deadpan and emotionless. She always kept her emotions in check, to do otherwise was to risk her sha overpowering her again.

Garnal frowned, “Blast… well we can at least report back that we confirmed her suspicions, redouble our efforts to track down other sources of power across Azeroth.” grumbled the death knight.

As he did Zul’zanza’s head snapped up and Xiaren turned to face the path they came through.

“Garnal. We are not alone.” she warned, flexing her hands as the power of her sha swirled around her fingertips. Her hands looked strange, covered in a swirling black and white pattern as if she wore gloves… but in truth those were just how her hands looked now. A while back, in Hallowfall, she had fought the pandaren monk Jaie Swiftpaw, and she had lost control of her sha which had tried to possess her. Jaie had used her own powers to force it back, but she would forever bear the mark of its corruption now.

Zul’zanza drew his wand and spell foci as Garnal unsheathed his swords, the living starcursed blades twitching eagerly as if hungry for the taste of blood… and then they burst through the doorway leading out of Cho’gall’s ruined throne room.

They were mortals once. Humans, orcs, dwarves, and the other races of Azeroth… but when Cho’gall died and the Bastion of Twilight fell, they had nowhere to go. So they stayed, hiding out and living off the food stores, then whatever they could catch or hunt without being caught by the Wildhammer dwarves and Dragonmaw orcs native to the area… but living in such a place, so close to the remains of a powerful void magic user like Cho’gall, had twisted them.

The Void would transform its followers, turning them into various creatures. The squid-faced k’thir, the faceless ones, and many others… but these ones weren’t anything like that. Their changes happened without a hand to guide them, only by proximity to the magical energies leaking off their former leader’s remains.

They were monsters. Misbegotten horrors that shouldn’t have been able to even function, but through their connection to the Void they somehow endured.

Their leader was an orc once, but now one arm had split into a mass of tentacles coated in fanged orifices, his face sporting one right eye and no less than seven left eyes, his tusks twice the size of a normal orc. “KILL THEM!” he roared, pointing a rusted axe at the trio as similar creatures surged around him!

Garnal swore and raised his blades as the shadows swirled around Zul’zanza, the troll lifting off the floor as he became a being of darkness. Behind them Xiaren’s sha manifested, the creature cackling as it tasted the emotions of their attackers. Fury at the intrusion, fear at being discovered, and a hunger… well… they didn’t eat very often. That one was more literal.

Really, they were transformed so far from the men and women they used to be… would it even count as cannibalism?

Garnal snarled and lashed out with his swords, a wave of shadowfrost cutting down a dwarven man with huge compound eyes and mandibles coming from his mouth, four sets of arms flailing as ice formed over his body. “Xiaren!” he called out.

“I cannot open a voidgate. Cho’gall warded his throne room against such things. We must escape the room or we cannot leave.” she replied, though there was a tremor in her voice. She couldn’t keep down her fear of the sight of so many former members of the Twilight’s Hammer attacking them, and behind her the sha shivered in pleasure at the sensation.

Garnal swore and swung his swords, bisecting a creature that at one point may have been a human woman, but at this point was more akin to a walking tumor with sores bleeding a foul ichor all over their form, their hands like twisted claws as they tried to grasp at him even as he hacked them apart. “DAMN!”

Zul’zanza lashed out with his power, sending a wave of darkness towards them, but it didn’t seem to do much to the attackers! A few stumbled, but the others kept coming! “Fook! Dese guys be too far gone! Th’ power Xal’atath gave me ain’t workin’ on ‘em!” he warned.

Xiaren frowned then reached out with her mind. If they were starcursed she may be able to control them like she could the skardyn, but as soon as she touched the mind of one of them she cried out and darted backwards. It was like sticking her hand into a hornet’s nest! They were so twisted by the uncontrolled remnants of Cho’gall’s power that they barely had minds TO control!

Ahead of them Garnal slammed his foot down as the ground before him swirled with necrotic energies, the cultists who ran into it falling to the floor as their bodies began to rot and fall apart, but some of them seemed wholly unaffected by it! He slashed down another one, a goblin man with two heads and mouths full of fangs, acidic yellow eyes all over his arms, then lashed out with his leg and kicked back another goblin whose body was so pitch black that he almost didn’t see them among their more monstrous allies, the goblin’s eyes pinpricks of light in a sea of darkness, like the night sky in a humanoid form!

Xiaren looked between them, then thought in her head, “(There’s too many… we’re going to get overwhelmed!)”

Inside of her mind a voice responded, “(Yes… does that scare you Xiaren? Your fear tastes so wonderful…)” it hissed.

Xiaren frowned, “(Damn you… think! If they overwhelm us, they’ll kill me! If I die, what happens to you?!)” she demanded.

The sha hesitated, “(Ah… you are right. That cannot happen. Fly over them and flee. They cannot reach you if I lift you.)”

“(If I go back without Garnal and Zul’zanza then Xal’atath will kill me for failing to bring them back. She was already angry when she had to recruit more people!)” she retorted.

The sha snarled, but it knew she was right. Away from Pandaria, without the remnants of Y’shaarj’s breath, it could not stay alive without a host. If Xiaren died then it would cease to exist at all.

“(Open your mind to me Xiaren.)” it whispered to her mind.

Xiaren growled, “(You will release me as soon as they are dead. They need me to open the path back to the Mistress.)” she insisted.

The sha growled, but it didn’t sound like a no… so Xiaren took a breath, and grimaced as she forced herself to remember. Remember the pain of losing her family to the mantid, remember her fury at Jaie’s offer to ‘help her’ far too late, her horror at the sound of Sekhi singing with Azeroth’s voice which made her hear the voices of her parents begging her to abandon her path and to stop helping the Harbinger… all of those together, and behind her the sha roared in ecstasy as it drank deeply of them, and dove in.

Xiaren screamed as her body shook, the pandaren’s features distorting as the sha merged with her, mind and body, once more… but this time it was necessary. They were facing down a small army of monsters, so they needed a monster of their own.

“Garnal! Zul’zanza! Get back!” she demanded, the pandaren’s body swelling as the sha transformed her flesh, and the two became one.

A massive sha loomed behind them, its features vaguely pandaren, but the creature easily thirty feet tall. It would have dwarfed even Cho’gall in life! Xiaren roared wordlessly and lashed out with a massive, clawed hand, slamming five cultists against the wall with a sickening crunch as she surged forward. She and her sha had been bonded to each other since she was a child, and her time in service to Xal’atath had only strengthened the connection. Her body had become the perfect vessel for the remnant of Y’shaarj, and she used that power now to force a path for their escape!

The cultists attacked with whatever they had to hand, but their numbers were no longer an advantage! Most of their weapons were falling apart from years of neglect, and their bodies were a nightmarish mish-mash of various creatures from years of random mutations. Some of them had claws or fangs or such, most did not or at least not in such a way that they were useful.

Xiaren roared, her voice echoing through the chamber as a wave of terror swept over the crowd ahead of them, the former members of the Twilight’s Hammer feeling their hearts catch (which wasn’t the same number as the number of cultists, not all the mutations were visible) before many of them turned and fled screaming into the ruined building. A few remained, and the sha-corrupted pandaren picked them up and pulled them apart in her claws, unleashing her rage and fury upon them, letting the sha drink of their terror as she killed them in various ways.

Finally, the room was clear, the transformed pandaren shaking her head as she clawed at the floor.

“(RELEASE ME! I MUST TAKE THEM BACK OR XAL’ATATH WILL COME FOR US BOTH!)” she demanded.

“(No! I refuse! I have starved for too long! Hunt the rest down and kill them! Let me feed on their fear, their despair!)” the sha demanded.

Xiaren hissed between her teeth, then the monster she had become screwed up its eyes and focused, breathing in and out at a slow measured pace as she clawed slowly at the floor.

Her body began to shrink back down slowly, a few inches at first, then faster as she forced her emotions back down. Inside her head the sha roared and raged, thrashing around as it tried to grab whatever emotions it could, clawing at her fears and anxieties, trying to draw out her repressed memories of her family, but Xiaren refused to let it. She gritted her teeth and forced herself to let go of the anger, the rage, all of it… leaving an icy calm behind.

The sha wailed and protested, begging now, but she ignored it, and soon the monster was gone and Xiaren stood there, her face an impassive mask as she pushed down the last few dregs of emotion, leaving herself empty once more.

“It is done.” she stated simply, then waved her hand as, just outside the ruined throne room, a portal of pure darkness appeared. The pandaren woman walked a few steps towards it, stopped, and looked back over her shoulder. “Are you coming?” she asked, a hint of annoyance in her voice for just a moment.

Garnal still had his swords out, Zul’zanza a normal troll once more but almost hiding behind the death knight. That had been quite the display, Garnal hadn’t seen Xiaren let the sha merge with her before… and it seemed that it didn’t want to give that up without a fight.

“Yes…” nodded Garnal, sheathing his weapons and trying to regain his composure, “We need to report to Mistress Xal’atath.” he added. He was a military man, sticking to protocol helped him focus.

Zul’zanza just nodded, trying not to scream. He really really missed his home in Stranglethorn Vale’s past right now.

The three of them walked through the portal, which closed with a snap, and thus the Bastion of Twilight was empty once more… save for those malformed horrors that stalked its halls, though much fewer in number now.

The three foes of Azeroth, and the members of Avalon and Savage United in particular, had confirmed Xal’atath’s suspicions if nothing else. The ethereals would need to empower the Dark Heart before they could use it… that at least gave her a target. Sources of great power on Azeroth, and not just void based powers. The Azure Archives in the Dragon Isles, the Maelstrom in the great sea, the Nightwell of Suramar… all of those could be a potential source of power should the ethereals manage to besiege them long enough to drain them into the Dark Heart.

Speaking of power, another being sought it as well… though in her case, she wanted allies rather than raw energy…

The Twisting Nether

On an island in the nether was a huge palatial building. It was several stories tall with spires sticking out over the swirling emptiness below. The interior was akin to the most extreme bordello one might ever imagine, where the clients come to indulge in cravings that are so far beyond sexual that they come back out the other side, and sometimes they don’t leave intact either...

At the top of the tower was the throne room of the most powerful demon there, the one who commanded the lesser sayaad, the Mother of Chaos.

Cenoon walked towards the door, then sighed and glanced back, “… don’t say anything, just let me do the talking.” he warned. Standing behind him were Gremori, Az��arad, and a short goblin woman in grey silken robes with purple hair.

Cenoon shoved open the door and walked inside, “… great mother Nirihzyh… I have returned from Aze-…” he began but was cut off by a loud squealing sound.

Rising from the throne was a huge woman with six sets of arms, her skin the color of ripe olives, her eyes glowing like coals. She wore a huge black metal headdress and little else, a small top and loincloth the only modesty she would allow herself.

“CENNYWENNY! YOU’RE BACK!” she called out, rushing forward and grabbing Cenoon, lifting the incubus up into her embrace with a delighted smile. “Oh, I missed my little boy so much! How was Azeroth? Did you have fun? Did you seduce anyone who screamed nicely? Did you bring mommy a present?” she giggled.

Behind him Az’arad stared in confusion, the wrathguard not sure what to make of what he was seeing. The goblin bit her lip, her sharp teeth digging into her skin to keep from laughing at the sight as Cenoon struggled, trying to free himself.

Behind them Gremori was leaning against a wall, doubled over and cackling loudly as small embers of felfire dribbled out from her eye sockets, the closest she could come to ‘laughing so hard she was crying.’

“Mother! MOTHER PLEASE! You’re embarrassing me infront of my warlock!” he protested, kicking his hooves as he tried to shove her arms apart long enough to get away.

“Hmph, oh poo…” pouted the giant demoness, “Poor little Cenny is upset that mommy still wants to dote on her son?” she asked, “Its not like any of your brothers survived as long as you did… why shouldn’t I be able to give my son a hug when he comes home?”

The goblin blinked slowly as the words sank in, the small woman walking forward as Cenoon finally managed to slip free and quickly ducked out of reach. “Wait… wait a bleedin’ minute…” she asked, “When you said ‘mother’ I thought you meant just a big demon woman… are you tellin’ me she actually is…” she began.

Cenoon sighed, “… my mother. Yes. I’m not going into the details of how sayaad reproduce, but the short version is this. Incubi like me are rare compared to succubi, we tend to die early and there’s only a handful of us in any spawn compared to our sisters. Mother can be a bit… clingy… because of that.” he replied, folding his arms over his chest and glancing away.

The demoness Nirihzyh sniffed at that, “Oh come now Cenny… that’s just mean…” she sighed, “Now, are you going to introduce us to your friends? Would they care for some treats? I have a mortal who didn’t read the summoning spell properly on the wall there if one of them would like to play.” she offered.

At this Az’arad grinned, unsheathing his axe.

Nirihzyh smiled and nodded, waving for him to go, and the wrathguard stomped towards the wall as the would-be warlock let out a whimper of terror before a loud chopping sound and a scream echoed through the throne room.

Cenoon shrugged, “The one taking your plaything apart is Az’arad, and the elf back there is Gremori. This is…” he paused, glancing at the goblin.

The goblin nodded to the demoness, “Cassidy Cogwheel. That’s what I’m going by for now.” she replied.

“Lovely to meet you, Cassidy.” nodded the demoness before she turned to Cenoon, “So… what brought you back home sweetie? I get the feeling it wasn’t just to visit your poor, lonely mother…” she pouted at him.

Cenoon sighed, “You’re not lonely mother, I only have one hundred and forty-seven sisters here last I counted.”

Nirihzyh giggled, “One hundred and thirty-six now. Some mortal wanted to open a nightclub with some real thrills on some drab little backwater world in the mortal realm. They’ll be back home once they’ve finished their games, I’m sure.”

Cenoon shrugged, “Well as long as they bring enough victims for everyone… but you’re right. Cassidy is wanting to contract with powerful demons and, well, you are powerful…” he nodded, though he looked away as he said it.

“Oh? Well… I don’t normally contract with mortals… but if she’s your friend that means I’ll be able to pop in and check up on my little sweetie-pie won’t it?” she grinned, showing a mouth filled with razor sharp teeth akin to a shark.

Cenoon hesitated, then looked back towards Cassidy with a distressed expression. “… must we?” he hissed.

Cassidy ignored him, the goblin woman walking forward and cutting her palm, holding it out to the demoness with a firm nod.

Nirihzyh smiled, then drew her fingernail across the palm of one of her hands as a deep violet liquid swelled up, “I Nirihzyh, Mother of Chaos and queen of the Sayaad of the Screaming Expanse, bind myself to you.” she purred, taking Cassidy’s hand in her own.

The goblin grinned, then said her part of the pact, and it was done and sealed… but Nirihzyh insisted they at least stay for dinner. She even let Az’arad carve the main course for everyone, after she chained it down so he could do it without too much difficulty. Gremori commented that it screamed well too.

All in all, Cenoon had to admit that he had worse visits home.

Next Story

Previous Story

[hksddr]

VoidCraft Island Chronicles Sky Survival - Nintendo Switch gameplay rele...

[sublightgames]

Stardust lore returns! ✨ From voidcraft to magrails and fusion power plants, erudium is the basis of incredible technologies. Learn all about the foundations of power engineering in The Bary in our new primer article! https://stardust.sublightgames.com/erudium/

[elusivecurrent]

(((TW: References to knifeplay)))

(Song of voidcraft - A witches liminal spiritual agnostic prayer)

Surge in-vitro en vitae

Invictus

Natura en natura

Natura en naturae

Sigma sign sine sigma-t

Leave

No future fidelic fetal form flowers here

Unmask you cowards!

Quiver and shiver as the witches quarter, hung and howl

Spike of fear the chant

Oh we hunt the hunter, we haunt the sallow sows seeking supper in seraphic truffles

Veritas! O beatific Veritas

Tear tear seek the seer

Tease seeking farther reach

Sundering searing sun sing sine in sin, O my Veritas!

Reach for me!

Hold tight this torn heart!

Grip in resolve, steel fast my steel sun sing sign in sine seen brilliant efflorescent effacing overwhelming overcoming come finally down

Render your mighty weight unto me O vice veiling violent sun sign sang O song

Seared my flesh

Brand my heart

O,Veritas

I am

Yours

Trace the blade my flesh

Chiseled in this flesh

I sculpt myself as you sculpt so lovingly

Lanquidity in exile

Banishment in a Bound seal

I give my pact to you

O Veritas

My true lover

I forever embrace the Brilliant liminal of your heart

And you reveal in revelry

Revolution, Revelation, Revealing

The concealing of cowards

Turned away from this,

Ineffable, abstract, precipice

Catch me as I fall!

From your grand shoulders

Sway in song slowly

Sedentarily seemingly

But you're always there

O Veritas

My heart's eye turns only towards you, my lover

Veritas

[tropinui]

DR4 - Usurper

"Graveyard of heroes." The sleek platinum figure spoke, an agent of a precursor empire, blue biolights shining along its form like a cold star in the darkness of the cleaved ship, ignoring the Fallen Sirkans being dragged off by the Mortem subroutines. He stood at the open breach, a gigantic hole in the ship that nearly splits the voidcraft in half... "Confidence without assured data is a very organic trait, chemicals in their cerebral area influencing them to make actions off of bravado. The belief that we are anything like our stationary, gate guardian easternlings was... unwise." The second Janissary, the Assassin, Usurper, the counter of coup. If there was one thing that made the allied forces sweat blood when it appeared to take out military leaders and political heads, it was him.

[asklordcaptaincastronova]

✍ + friction

The lighter skidded to a halt, sparks flying everywhere with a horrific screeching sound. The autocannon continued to shoot at the crashing voidcraft.

Yet the wretched thing still blew it's hatches releasing armored forms returning lasfire.