#who built the air gliders

[musings-and-overanalyses]

Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind: Why This is My Favourite Ghibli Movie

CW: Major high-school English teacher vibes ahead. Proceed at your own risk.

Nausicaä of the valley of wind is a story of the titular character Nausicaä and her being a bridge between the world of humans and nature to bring peace, thus fulfilling an ancient prophecy.

Nausicaa is the princess of the Valley of the Wind. The film begins with her walking and exploring the Sea of Decay, an area with toxic air, plants and fungal spores. She collects some spores and finds the hard molten shell of an Ohmu (gigantic blue-blooded trilobite-looking creatures), which her people use to make weapons and tools. As the name suggests, the Valley of the Wind is a civilisation that depends on and bases their culture around wind, which one can see through an abundance of windmills and gliders, including the one that Nausicaä rides. They are shown to be peaceful people who do not interfere with the politics of the warring human kingdoms or disturb nature. Nausicaä in particular is shown to have a special gift with animals—from calming Ohmus to having a pet fox-squirrel. As the existence of the kingdom depends on the sea wind that shields them from the effects of the sea of decay, there is a general reverence towards nature and its other members such as the Ohmus, that are often referred to with honorifics.

This was an element I liked: the symbolism goes deep in this film; for example, with the nature of wind—it being the very breath necessary for life is contrasted with its other face, through toxic spores in the sea of decay capable of killing anyone who inhales it.

It is revealed that humans had built The Giant Men, weapons so dangerous—not unlike our atomic bombs as shown through the characteristic mushroom cloud—that the destruction caused by the war had unleashed the fury of the Ohmus, an otherwise gentle species. They wiped out entire civilisations and where they died, the Sea of Decay grew on their decomposing corpses, showing how all life is interconnected and that even in death the rage of the Ohmus, and through them the rage of nature, wouldn't subside. It is then that the viewers find out that this is not some far-off planet, but a post-apocalyptic future on earth.

New species of plants and fungi made the Sea of Decay their habitat—nature and life always find a way. It is implied that the humans lost the war referred to as the Seven days of Fire, but the truth is that it is not a war that can ever be won. Even if you win the war against nature you lose. As the story progresses, we see that the plants and fungi that Nausicaä collected from the Sea of Decay are actually trying to purify the soil and water—nature holds no grudges but only seeks balance.

The seventh of the Giant Men, a sentient atomic bomb if you will, apparently hid underground for a thousand years until the kingdom of Pejite found it for use against their enemy, the Tolmekians. They both remain oblivious to the sheer destruction that can be caused by this Giant Man and they don't care either. Despite the balance between humans and nature being a delicate one, instead of trying to rebuild together, they justify to themselves that the war is necessary for self-preservation and to put humans back on top of the food chain.

In their hubris, the Tolmekians and their princess Kushana believe that with the help of their superweapon they can destroy the Sea of Decay despite knowing that it will trigger the wrath of the Ohmus. The Giant Man however is not complete and hence, though the devastation is great, the final giant man dies and all that is remains to be done is to calm the wrath of the Ohmus.

Nausicaä saves an Ohmu child who was injured by Tolmekian soldiers to lure the Ohmus into a war. She saves the baby Ohmu and sacrifices her own life to calm the sea of maddened Ohmus. The now-calm Ohmu then revive Nausicaä, symbolising the mystical healing power of nature and its ability to support and create life.

Nausicaä is an excellent protagonist, and how the trope of the chosen one is utilised is beautiful and full of symbolism. Right from the get-go, we see her being inquisitive and brave. She is willing to defend her people but not through violence. And it is made abundantly clear that her avoidance of violence is not due to any lack of strength; when she strikes down the soldiers who killed her father, rather than feeling any sense of pride (as one might expect from a character not used to strength), it sickens her. She shows understanding even towards Kushana, whose men took over her kingdom. She sincerely loves and respects animals and plants.

There was a prophecy among the people of the valley of wind that a person clad in blue over golden fields will save their kingdom and bring peace. And towards the end of the film, Nausicaä's clothes becoming blue with the blood of the baby Ohmu she saved and the golden fields being the tendrils of the Ohmus healing her is poetic to say the least.

In addition to a good female protagonist, we also get a powerful female antagonist in Kushana, who starts out as a one-note expansionist ruler, but it is revealed that she lost her limbs and got severely maimed by the sea of decay, motivating her to destroy it once and for all. Proud and arrogant, sure, but she has a motive beyond just wanting power and possesses some form of a moral code. In another story she could be the protagonist bravely defending humanity against the evil, alien-esque trilobites and spores.

It was a unique and meaningful choice on Miyazaki's part to symbolise nature through the Ohmus—alien-looking giant insects—instead of something cute and fluffy. Oftentimes humans care more about the conservation of animals that they find cute (pandas over, say, Panamanian golden frogs), but an animal doesn't have to appeal to human aesthetics to be worth conserving.

Absolutely not to be missed is the breathtaking soundtrack by Hisaishi. There are symphonies, techno music, sitar-like instruments and a child's humming, all elevating every scene to give a moving experience.

Ultimately it is an ambitious story that aims to deal with themes of coexisting with nature, the futility and dangers of war, and of how innocent children who should live carefree lives are dragged into it and made heroes. This film is often categorised as falling into the genre of Solarpunk: a literary and artistic movement that centres around building a sustainable future interconnected with nature and community. Although this film does depict violence and wars, it ultimately shows a peaceful future is possible.

Truly a masterpiece. 9/10.

[specialagentlokitty]

Zuko x Male!reader - wisdom

Hiiiii, it's me again! I was wondering if you could do a Zuko x male airbender! Reader where the reader is Aangs older brother? - @just-call-me-m00n 💜

Looking towards your little brother, the water tribe behind him and the fire nation ship, you took a daring step forward.

“(Y/N)!” Aang hissed.

“Shut up!” You snapped quietly.

You took a few more steps forwards towards the Prince.

“I am the Avatar, if I come with you will you swear to leave these people as well as my brother?”

The prince regarded your first a moment before he nodded his head.

You handed your glider over to the soldiers and let them lead you on to the ship.

You were chained up in a room, listening to the prince rant on about how he was going to restore his honour and be able to return home.

“All of this just to return home?” You asked.

“Shut up. I’m going to hand you over to my father, and he’ll restore my honour.”

You scoffed a little, shaking your head at him.

“Your honour is nothing that can be taken from you, you always have your honour, and only you can determine how you keep or loose it.”

“Quiet with your monk speeches.”

You shrugged a little and waited for him to leave, once it was quiet you flexed your wrist around, getting a feel for how much movement you had.

After a moment you stopped and took a deep breath, carefully moving your hand you felt the air being built up around your chains.

Finally, you trust your hands out and the chains were pulled apart with a small pop.

Falling to the floor, you crouched and leant down, pressing your ear to the metal of the ship.

You could hear the echoes of some movements, but they were a few floors up.

Standing up, you kicked your leg up, knocking the door of the hinges you started to run around and finally you found your glider tossed to the side.

Grabbing it, you sprinted straight to the top deck and before anyone could see you, you glided away.

“(Y/N)!”

Turning around, you saw the flying bison and turned around, landing on Appa’s head, you smiled at Aang as he crushed you into a hug.

“Don’t ever do that again…” he mumbled.

“Sorry Aang, no promises.”

Every single time you encountered Zuko, you would always pull the same trick, or you would somehow distract him so the rest could escape.

This time was different, Zuko was following Aang, choosing to ignore you as you ran the opposite way.

“You’re mine this time avatar.” Zuko snarled.

You spun around just to see the flames surging at Aang, and you rushed in to action, spinning around, you threw air at the flames, instantly putting them out.

You stood in front of Zuko, holding your arms out, a scowl on your face.

“You will not hurt my brother Zuko.” You sneered.

You and Zuko started to battle it out, throwing attack after attack at one another, neither of you managing to land a solid hit.

After a while, you finally managed to find an open spot, and you struck.

Zuko watched as you jumped over his flames, landing on your feet, you quickly crouched and swept your leg out, the air knocking him from his feet.

Standing over him, you had your arms up and ready.

“You will never amount to anything if you keep crashing other visions of who you are supposed to be Zuko. You must find your own destiny and create your way path in this life.”

With that, you stepped down and walked away.

“You’re really powerful!” Sokka beamed.

“(Y/N) has been training ever since he could walk, he’s the best airbender I know!” Aang beamed.

“But why don’t you have the same tattoos? It’s like a right of passage isn’t it?” Katara asked.

“Well, yes. But I did not want my tattoos, I was the best air bender at our temple, but I was still childish, I wasn’t ready to grow up and accept my markings like I was supposed to. When Aang left, I went with him so I didn’t have to grow up.”

They nodded along, they understood why you wouldn’t want to grow up at a young age, and they were glad you were here with them.

With you being Aangs brother, they couldn’t imagine you being separated.

When Zuko finally changed his way and decided to help bring the reign of his nation to an end you were beyond happy.

You met up with them after the attack on the air temple, and you walked over to the prince and sat next to him.

“I am proud of you Zuko.” You smiled.

Zuko turned to face you with a frown on his face.

“Why?”

You laughed a little and stood up.

Zuko watched you intently as you started to slowly move, gently you moved the air around you with such ease and Grace.

“Zuko, do you know what air and life have in common?”

“Nothing.”

You laughed again and shook your head.

“No, like life, air can be harsh, cruel and unforgiving, but with a little work, you can tame it, befriend it and show it how to move with kindness.”

You stopped and turned around.

“All the elements work hand in hand, each helps strengthen as well as destroy one another. Sometimes people make the wrong choices in life, and that’s okay, without taking a few wrong turns we can never find where we are supposed to be.”

Zuko sighed, shrugging his shoulders as he looked away.

“I don’t understand where I’m supposed to be in life…”

Walking over, you knelt in front of him, placing a hand on his shoulder as you gave him a smile.

“You are exactly where you are supposed to be, and where you’re supposed to always be Prince Zuko. And you are exactly who you are supposed to be.”

Patting his shoulder a little, you got up and walked to the edge of the cliff and sat down, taking a deep breath as you closed your eyes and began to meditate.

Zuko walked away but he kept thinking about what you told him, he still couldn’t fully understand what you were trying to tell him.

“(Y/N)?”

Zuko walked over to where you were still sat, and he sat down next to you.

Glancing at you, he turned away back to the moonrise.

“How do I know if I am the person I am supposed to be?”

“You won’t know, it isn’t something you simply know. But you will feel it, maybe not now, maybe not tomorrow but one day.”

“Do you know if you’re the person you’re supposed to be?” Zuko asked.

You sighed, and opened your eyes.

“If I’m to be honest with you Zuko, no. I am not the person I am supposed to be, I know this. The person I am supposed to be was over a hundred years ago, when I declined my markings. That was who I was supposed to be, I was supposed to gain my tattoos, showing that I had indeed passed all my training.”

“But you didn’t?”

“No, I refused to accept that I was no longer a child, so I ran away. I gave up being the person I was supposed for my childish mentality and for my brother.”

“Would you change that if you could?”

Turning to face Zuko, you waited for him to do the same before you spoke again.

“No. I wouldn’t change the things I have done, they have made me who I am today, as have yours. You are not a bad person Zuko, I know that for sure.”

He smiled at little and you smiled back.

“Thank you (Y/N).”

“You’re much welcome.”

You and Zuko sat staring at the moon for a little bit before he spoke up again.

“(Y/N)?”

You turned to face Zuko.

“Yeah?”

“Tell me more above what the monks taught you.”

“Sure, come with me.”

Standing up. You held you hand out to help Zuko up, and when he was you let go.

Zuko brush his hand against yours, and you smiled a little bit at him, letting him take your hand in his again.

You led him away from the camp and stood staring at the stars hand in hand as you imparted on him all the wisdom that you had been taught all those years ago.

As Zuko stood there listening, he wondered why they would try get rid of the air nation, you were smart, caring and gentle, nothing like him.

He looked down at your hand in his, and turned back to looking at you.

You had taught him everything everything he knew about changing the world for the better.

And in that moment he decided he wanted you to be by his side for the rest of your times on earth, he wanted you to be the one to keep him on the right path and fix the damage his nation had created

[irradiated-imp]

The Toa Sinis

The former toa Protectors of Metru Nuva, a massive metropolitan city built on Spherus Magna.

The Toa Sinis were infamouns amongst Toa for the ruthless efficiency they operated on thanks to their leader, Toa Ohtto. EVentually, the city turned on the Toa after they broke the Toa Code and the team never got over this and themselves have turned on the city they used to protect.

Toa Sinis of Ice, Ohtto

Ohtto was the leader of the Toa Sinis. He is incredibly intelligent and used to work as a Scholar in the city's knowledge towers before he became a Toa. His inteligence however gave him a massive ego, which only got worse upon becoming a Toa.

His Toa tool is the mechanical arms her wirlds.. They were oroginally a device he attached to himself to help with his work as a matoran, but the process of becoming a Toa fused them to him. They have numerous alternative weapons the claws on them can become.

Toa Sinis of Stone, Lehks

A powerful brute of a Toa, towering over his team mates, and with unparalleled strength. Lehks is absolutely the muscle of the team. He's well known for his incredibly short temper, something that was only really kept in check by Ohtto and the rest of his team.

As a Matoran he worked as a City Guard. Like many Guardsmen, when the Vahki 2.0 were created and introduced to boost law enforcement, he despised them. He didn't trust them, nor did he like the threat they posed to law enforcement jobs. To try and show the Vahki as redundant, Lehks agreed to test out a prototype set of power armor. He loved it, and was always seen with it. Upon becoming a Toa, however, the proto type armor was melded to his body.

Toa Sinis of Air, Tuum

Tuum was an inventor as a Matoran and created numerous useful gadgets that are often still used in Metru Nuva today. His final invention, before becoming a Toa anyways, was a wing pack that allowed Matoran to fly. It never got past the prototype. The prototype functioned, but manufacturers saw no reason to make it with the numerous other air born vehicles Matoran had access to. Tuum spitefully kept the Prototype and used it on a regular basis. The Wing pack even became his Toa Tool upon his transformation.

After becoming a Toa, Tuum found more comfort in the air with his now much more advanced wings.

He was known for his spiteful nature, and tendency to hold grudges. Even before the team went bad, Tuum often went out of his way to inconvenience or bully those who'd wronged him as a Matoran.

Toa Sinis of Fire, Ghob

Ghob was always a little cross wired. Though he kept it in check, he had a destructive nature, and greatly enjoyed breaking stuff which played into his chosen career path in demolitions.

Upon becoming a Toa, Ghob's sky board changed into the new, current shape as a sort of powered glider. It holds within it empty canisters that Ghob is able to transfer fire energy into to turn into bombs.

Ghob was easily amongst hte most destructive of the Toa Sinis, rivaled only by Lehks and even then, Lehks had more self control than Ghob did. This often left Ghob at odds with his team, and the Matoran of Metru Nuva.

Toa Sinis of Sonics, Shuul

Shuul is one of the most pragmatic of the Toa Sinis. When he was on a mission his primary goal was to get in, and get it done as quickly as possible as effectively as possible. Thanks to his sensitive hearing, he had difficulty using his element, until Tuum and Ohtto modified his gauntlets. The new modifications they made allowed him to channel elemental powers into silent shockwaves.

As a Matoran he worked in tectonics, helping monitor for seismic activity.

Toa Sinis of Lightning, Illhon

Illhon is effectively the only member of the Toa Sinis who lacks a Toa tool, channeling electricity through body alone. Initially he had difficulty controlling his element, but he got the of it quickly. He quickly became obsessed with the new found power his element gave him, and the further boost to that his Kanohi Voriki gave him. It wasn't uncommon to see him draining buildings or other powered structures of their energy.

Something no one on his team let's him forget is that in his Matoran days he was an electrician.

The Toa Sinis as Matoran

Been on a Spider-Man hyperfixation lately, and had the idea for a bionicle Spider-man cross over. I'll have a team of Spider-men made later on, once I've settled on the team comp and their elements. Got it, mostly, figured out but still figuring it out.

[nyamadermont]

Peak of Denial

#FFF241 Hour of Denial

@flashfictionfridayofficial

Avatar: Legend of Korra

730 words

Tenzin spiraled up the primary tower of the temple, bending the air under his feet like stairs. Eventually, he reached his spot, a tiny platform he had built at the peak of the roof. He sighed, billowed his robes, and settled into a lotus position. 

From here, he could look out over the ocean from a spot where he could not be bothered by anyone. Only he had the skills safely to mount so high. 

This was his place of last resort, the place where he would allow himself one solitary hour. 

One hour to continue pretending. To deny to himself the reality of what had just happened. 

The day Momo had died, he had been so distraught that he found himself up here by accident. It had taken an hour for his father to find him and return him to the ground. 

The day he had found Bumi’s goodbye note, he had thrown himself out through the window of the dormitory and used his hands to pull himself up the side of the tower. He could still feel the tears on his father’s cheeks from where they had cried for what felt like an hour. 

The day Kya had hugged him before running away, tears in her eyes, to leap onto her boat and sail away, he had spent an hour gathering wood and tools. He had climbed the steps inside and used a rope to secure himself while he prepared the little platform. 

The day Lin had looked at him blankly when he mentioned children, he had pulled his glider out and floated to the roof on the mounting breezes. The cold rain of autumn drove him inside after only an hour. 

The day his mother had told him his father would not recover, he fled from her, weeping silently until he returned to his spot. The hour he spent screaming at the sky ruined his voice for days. 

The day his father gave him a blessing and conveyed the future of the Air Nation into his hands, he shed his clothes as he ran up the stairs until he leapt out, barely catching the parapet with his fingertips, flinging himself onto his perch. After an hour, he gave up on meditation, and gave himself over to exhaustion. 

The day Su had hurt Lin and Toph had betrayed her, Lin had shut him out of her rage and grief. He had returned to the Island on Oogi’s back and pulled alongside his platform, sending Oogi to return alone. He settled in, outwardly calm and serene. For an hour, he told the winds of his own anger and hurt. 

The day Pema had looked at him, and said, matter of factly, that she would be marrying him one day, he had marched quite deliberately up the staircase. Once settled, he brought his left fist (Lin) against his right (Pema), and spent an hour trying to decide where his loyalties lay. 

The day Lin had accused him of cheating on her, he had retreated in confusion and no small measure of fear at her lack of control. The dust that whirled around her provided him steps that carried him out of her reach and into the hour’s peace above.

“I think if you consider what I’ve said, you’ll find you agree with me. She isn’t right for you. I am.”

Pema’s words struck him like one of Lin’s boulders. 

Lin, with whom he had learned to walk and talk. Who had been his constant companion for their first ten years. With whom he had played, and studied, and trained, and sparred. Who had held him through those long nights after his father’s death. Who had stood by him when Kya had come to collect their mother. The mother who had set her face to the sea and left him.

He had whirled away from the woman who confused him. Who drew him. With whom he felt more settled and calm than he had felt since he was a child. 

Who had done more to help him teach the acolytes’ children in her year on the Island than Lin had in a lifetime. 

With a slow, purging breath, he let the hour go. 

He could no longer deny it to himself.

He knew what he had to do. 

He stood, took a step, and opened the third chapter of his life. 

[isshua]

Messianic Aureation

Chapter 11: To Tempt a God's Wrath

Summary: With the help of a new friend, Cara sets off to steal the Holy Lyre der Himmel. It’s time to once again face the Vessels who want her dead.

I finished editing this chapter in an airport lol

Chapter 12 is here

“Look,” Bennett said when they were crossing under a large stone column left over from a civilization now long gone. He pointed to a nearby tree, thin and scraggly with no leaves. Weighing down one of its branches was a purple-and-black raven watching them with glittering green eyes. Without a sound, it spread its large wings and took to the air, circling once over their heads, and then flying north, keeping low below the everpresent mist that seemed to hover over the land bordering Dragonspine permanently.

  “Follow her,” was all Kaeya said. Their journey continued.

  Cara kept her eyes on the bird as often as possible while they left the Dragonspine area. They passed the Frostbearing Tree, with its unnatural warmth seeping invitingly into her chilled bones. The Frostarm Lawlachurl sitting near it gave them no trouble, but seemed to focus its gaze on her specifically as it watched them without uttering a sound. The raven led them down a noticeable road by the Fatui camp set up not far from the Frostbearing Tree, and then over the broken stone bridge that would bring them into the Windwail Highland. They did not go through the adventurer camp, even though it would have been nice to pick up some warm goulash from Harris if they had. It was probably for the best that they avoided it, since none of them had any idea how the people there would react to seeing the face of the imposter walking free among them once again.

  They broke off from the road to cross through tall grass and had to stop at the edge of a small canyon cutting their path in half. The raven flew across it and landed on the roof of an empty Shrine of the Depths to wait for them. Cara peered over the cliff and down at the road below, her stomach turning slightly when she saw how far of a drop she would take if she were to go over.

  “Looks like we’re going to have to glide,” Kaeya said.

  “But I don’t have a glider,” Cara told him.

  “Hm. Well, I guess I could carry you. I’m sure I can hold onto you long enough before I lose my grip and send you plummeting to your doom.” Kaeya studied the distance between their cliff and the one beyond.

  The raven cried out impatiently and flapped its wings.

  “Um, Your Grace, if I may have your ear for a moment?” Sucrose asked timidly. “I could have a way to solve this problem. As you know, I have an Anemo Vision. I can conjure up minor recreations of Anemo-based lifeforms. They are rather unstable, but I think if I can create one that’s small enough, it won’t tear you apart with its wind and can maybe carry you to the other side…now that I say it out loud, it doesn’t sound like such a good idea���but it might be worth a shot at trying.”

  “Are you sure it’ll be safe?” Bennett asked.

  Sucrose shrugged. “Maybe? I’ve tested it before, but only on small animals and monsters.”

  “I think we should trust Sucrose!” Klee said. “She’s very smart, and her wind powers are very strong! The Anemo Archon wouldn’t have given her a Vision if he thought she couldn’t handle it!”

  “That’s…very mature of you to say, Klee. And thank you. Your Grace, may I help you across?”

  Cara drew in a breath and hid her hesitation. “Okay.”

  Sucrose’s Vision started to glow when she stepped back and bunched her hands together in a ball. Anemo rapidly began to swirl around her closed fists. “Enhanced Anemo Module 75!” she yelled. She flung her hands outward and released the built-up energy. Wind hit all of their faces when a large Anemo spirit formed from Sucrose’s elemental burst. Cara gasped when she was picked up by the gusts of air and carried haphazardly over the canyon. The wind spirit dumped her rather unceremoniously on the other side and then dissolved away in a burst of teal light.

  She stood up on shaky legs and watched her friends glide smoothly over the canyon. “Cara alright?” Razor asked when he thumped down beside her and withdrew his wings.

  “Yup, everything’s still in working order. Thanks for the lift, Sucrose. That was actually sort of fun.”

  Sucrose blushed at the praise. “I-oh-I mean-um-you’re welcome, Your Grace.”

  The raven cawed again and took flight. “We’re almost there,” Kaeya said. “Let’s keep going.”

  The afternoon was warm and clear, and Cara found herself readily acclimating to the pleasant weather she had left behind during her month-long stay in Dragonspine. The sun peeked out from behind the occasional cloud, kissing her skin with a warmth so very different from that of a fire. The wind sang through the bushes and the trees, played through the grass, caressed her hair and called out its joyful announcement to the world around it with vigor. “Here she is, our beloved Creator, returning to us from the peaks of the frozen mountain! After so much time, we can see her again, hear her again, and bask in her glorious light! Come now, creatures of Monstadt, witness the return of your god!”

  “Is it just me, or are there more animals than usual out and about?” Bennett asked.

  He was right. Just like her first day in Teyvat, the wildlife around them seemed to be more active than usual. Foxes watched them from beneath the trees, grazing deer lifted their heads to look at them with their gentle gazes, and birds sang a rejoicing melody. All the while the wind continued to fly and dance and sing.

  “The wind,” Cara stated with partial disbelief. “The wind is calling to them. I…I can understand it.”

  Her friends all exchanged intrigued glances, but said nothing when they saw how her expression was alive with wonder as she basked in Teyvat’s embrace. She was so enthralled, she didn’t even notice when her traveler outfit glowed gold and shed its winter version to return to its previous summer look.

  The wind lost its strength when Monstadt City grew near. Its voice weakened to a whisper, urgently breathing its final message into Cara’s ears. “We cannot communicate with you here. He is cutting us off from you and bending us to his will. Once you are behind those walls, we will have no choice but to obey him. You will be on your own.”

  Silence befell her senses. Teyvat’s presence disappeared, and she was alone. Her connection to the world had grown stronger over the course of a month, but she was still in the domain of the Anemo Archon. He would always have the upper hand while she was here…unless she got her hands on his gnosis, which felt more and more like an impossible task by the second. She breathed in through her nose and held it deep within her stomach before slowly letting it out. There would be no panicking. Just because she couldn’t communicate with Teyvat didn’t mean she was alone. Razor, Bennett, Kaeya, Sucrose, and Klee were with her, and from what Kaeya had told her back at Albedo’s camp, more allies would be joining them soon. She was going to be okay, she told herself. She wasn’t alone.

  They climbed down a short cliff and found themselves back on a road again, in a secluded portion not far from Springvale and Monstadt City. The raven landed on a large boulder and cried out once. Its body grew and shifted from the shape of a bird to that of a human girl. Fischl and Oz separated and returned to their own bodies. The Electro user crossed her legs and flipped back her hair. “Behold!” she cried with a flashy smile. “Thou thought what you saw was nothing more than a simple raven! But it was actually I, Fischl, Prinzessin der Verurteilung, in the form of my faithful familiar!”

  Oz landed on his master’s shoulder and bowed his head in greeting. “A fine afternoon it is, Almother Caratrice and friends of the Creator. How do you do? Mein Fräulein and I noticed you all traveling down Dragonspine during one of our usual checkups. We assumed this was a clear sign that the plan Sir Kaeya decided upon in case of emergencies was being put into action. Our other ally has been contacted, and I anticipate her arrival at any moment.”

  “Thank you, Oz,” Kaeya said. “You have my gratitude.”

  “Did you know I could possess Oz and take to the skies so readily?” Fischl asked, completely unaware of the conversation happening. “It is a clear sign of our bond. Oz and I are two pieces of the same whole, and whenever I deem it necessary, I call upon the tethers that bind us and unite our souls! ‘Tis quite an impressive achievement, is it not?”

  “Tis,” both Cara, Razor, and Bennett agreed at the same time.

  Kaeya caught Cara’s attention. “Your Grace, I may be a little late, telling you this now, but Fischl and Oz have been keeping an eye on you for the past month. Fischl can possess Oz and go wherever she pleases in his form, you know, so she was the perfect candidate to make sure you were safe and the hounds were nowhere near your location.”

  “We sincerely hope we were not crossing any boundaries by doing so,” Oz added. “If we did, we did not mean to upset you. We were only worried for your safety, you see?”

  “Oh, it’s okay, I don’t mind,” Cara assured him. “It’s actually nice to know you guys were looking out for me. Thank you for caring so much.”

  “There is no need to thank us, Your Grace!” Fischl crossed her arms and held her head high. “We are thou devoted acolytes, after all! For the God Above All Gods, I would shed my lifeforce, spill my blood, and bring the Immernachtreich crashing down in a glorious eclipse of darkness and light if it meant to shield you from the horrors of this world! To protect you is our purpose!”

  “M-Maybe we don’t have to resort to such violent actions in order to help me?” Cara suggested. “Just being my friend is enough.”

  From behind them, there was the clinking of armor. The first thought that ran through Cara’s head upon hearing it was The knights. They heard us. They found me. Instantly she had her sword drawn and was in a defensive stance. Kaeya, Bennett, and Razor pressed close to her with their own weapons bristling. Sucrose grabbed Klee and retreated further behind the boulder. Fischl and Oz looked on, neither of them worried. “There is no need to attack!” the prinzessin announced. “We are not faced with the presence of an enemy, but a friend! Lower thy weapons!”

  The young woman in front of them flung up her hands and shook with panic. “W-Wait, please! I assure you, I mean no harm!”

  Sucrose timidly emerged out of the boulder’s shadow. “Noelle?”

  “It is Noelle!” Klee exclaimed. “She made it, she made it!”

  “Yes, I did.” The warrior maid lowered her hands. “I’m so sorry for startling you all. I hurried here as quickly as I could after Oz delivered the message to me.”

“Were you followed? Did anyone notice you?” Kaeya asked.

  “No, I made sure to cover my tracks diligently. No one should know I’m here.” Noelle curtseyed to Cara elegantly. “Your Grace, it is my pleasure and honor to be in your holy presence. I am Noelle, maid of the Knights of Favonius. I am here to serve and protect you in any way possible.”

  “Noelle.” Cara smiled when she said her name. “You don’t need to introduce yourself, I know who you are. Please, call me Cara. I’m so happy to finally meet you.”

  “Oh, no!” Noelle shook her head insistingly. “I must address you in the way you deserve to be! I could never speak to a god in such a casual manner, especially the Almother of Teyvat!”

  “I’m-I’m not-” Cara sighed and gave up. There’s no getting through to them.

  “What is the trouble? Do you need healing supplies? Food? Water? Whatever you need, I’ll bring it to you!” Noelle brought out her backpack and started to rummage through it. “I have potions as well, both offensive and defensive. If any stitches or bandage application is needed, I can do that, too! Oh Razor, don’t give me that look. Being a maid includes helping others heal! I assure you, I know what I’m doing.”

  “Much of that may come in handy later, but for now, no, we don’t need any supplies,” Kaeya said. “What we do need is your help.”

  Noelle nodded eagerly. “Yes, help! I can certainly provide that. What do you need help with?”

  Razor pointed at Monstadt City in the distance. “We need to go there.”

  “There?” Noelle followed his indication of direction. “Oh, surely you don’t mean the city. It is far too dangerous for Her Grace to go there. If the Acting Grand Master was to see her, she would kill her on sight.”

  “We know,” Cara said. “Believe me, if I could avoid going back, I would. But there’s something in the city that I need to do. I have to get in without being seen.”

  “Your Grace, I apologize for questioning you, but I don’t believe there is truly anything important enough in there that is worth risking your life over. You don’t understand what it’s been like since you escaped twice. There are wanted posters with your face on them covering every street lamp and bulletin board! And it’s not just the Knights of Favonius who are hunting you anymore either, it’s the citizens, too! I even had a bard ask me if I’ve seen you anywhere. The way he looked at me almost made me think he knew I was secretly one of your followers!”

  “Oh no,” Cara breathed. “A bard?” The phantom pain of Venti’s arrow gutting her stomach made her clutch her middle.

  “Yes, a bard.” Noelle tilted her head quizzically at her reaction. “Is he someone you know? If so, I would suggest avoiding him. He doesn’t seem to be very fond of you.”

  She didn’t comment, far too spooked at the prospect of Venti tracking her every move. Razor noticed her distress and patted her back. Kaeya took over the conversation. “I understand where your concern for Her Grace is coming from, but this is a matter of urgency that cannot be ignored. We need to get into the city. It is the key to Cara gaining mastery over the wind. That is why you and Fischl are here. The two of you, as well as Sucrose and Klee, aren’t suspected by the knights as being traitors to the false Creator. You can clear a path for us and get us safely in without causing unwanted detection.”

  “But that means-oh no.” Noelle gasped. “The hounds, they saw you!”

  “Yes, they did. Jean must know by now that I can no longer be trusted, which means my connections and the advantages I can offer us are lost. It’s up to you now.”

  “Please,” Cara added. “Help us.”

  Noelle sighed. “If this is something you must do…then I will stand by you and help. I’ll get you into the city!”

  “I shall also help you sneak into the lair of thy enemy and acquire the prize that will bend the power of Anemo to thy will!” Fischl announced. “Oz and I shall do all within our power to deliver Her Grace from the claws of fate that would seek to snatch her at every turn, and to ready our minds lest we be required to make the ultimate sacrifice in the performance of this noblest of duties! But first, I must comment on the fact that thou art no longer in possession of the gifts from the Immernachtreich I bestowed upon thee the last time we met.”

  Cara winced guiltily when she recalled the tattered remains of the wig and Fatui mask Fischl gave her. “Yes, I don’t have them anymore. They got destroyed when I teleported to Dragonspine through a waypoint. I’m really sorry. I can find a way to pay you back for them, I promise.”

  “Pay me back?” Fischl looked flabbergasted. “Why wouldst thou wishest to pay me back? Those ‘gifts of the Immernachtreich’ were only pointless baubles, now that I think about it. I have plenty more back in my abode. For such things to be destroyed during your valiant escape via timespace is undoubtedly expected. Oz and I have traveled between the waypoints countless times when possessed by your guiding light. To survive such a mode of travel without the protection your presence supplies is an unbelievable feat.”

  “Indeed, you have no reason to apologize, Your Grace,” Oz agreed. “Everyone here understands how dangerous it is to use teleport waypoints. I myself have lost a few feathers when traveling between them.”

  “We knew such an occurrence might happen. So, your devoted worshiper decided to have another gift of the Immernachtreich crafted so that your face may be hidden from the hunters.” Fischl held out a box elegantly wrapped in red-and-gold paper with a teal bow on top. “For you! Please, open it!”

  “A gift for me?” Cara shook her head. “Oh, Fischl, I couldn’t possibly-”

  “Quell thy humbleness! You are a god. It is completely natural for you to be accepting offerings from followers! Now open!”

  Cara reluctantly accepted the present and carefully tore the wrapping paper away. Inside the box, nestled over teal tissue paper, was a mask of a white dragon with storm blue eyes. Portions of the wood were carved to resemble fur, and a set of three horns, with the longest on top of the head and the second two running down the sides, made it look intimidating and fierce. A single golden diamond star was painted on the center of its forehead.

  “Woah, cool!” Bennett said. “That’s a windtrace mask! Back when the aristocracy ruled Monstadt, the underground rebellion would wear these to hide their identities. Nowadays, people usually wear them during Ludi Harpastum or to masquerade parties.”

  “Mein Fräulein and I commissioned the kind owner of the gift shop in town,” Oz explained. “We were planning on giving it to you regardless of whether you still had the wig and previous mask, but this is a much better circumstance. It is modeled after Caratrice’s true form.”

  Cara ran her hands over the mask, marveling at the craftsmanship. “So, this…is supposed to be me?”

  “Mhm!” Fischl nodded. “I am sure you have already heard about the secret fire that lies within you. There is a poem I know that perfectly describes it. “The Six-Winged Queen rides the wind, with flaming breath and mouth agrin. Atop Her head is a golden star, a sign of power that spreads afar.” Your Grace, please wear this gift with all of the health and goodwill Teyvat may offer, and only cast it aside when your true dragonic body is restored!”

  Cara slid the mask over her face. It fit her perfectly, and though her range of sight was now even more limited than before-having one eye bandaged and the other restricted by the peephole of a mask wasn’t exactly the recipe for perfect vision-she could still see okay. Fischl let out a little squeal. “Perfect! Exquisite! Wonderful! Now thou truly appear as a hidden dragon!”

  “SO COOL!” Klee clapped her hands. “I want a windtrace mask, too! Sucrose, can we go get one from Marjorie? I want mine to look like Jumpty Dumpty!”

  “Maybe later,” Sucrose said. “I don’t think Mr. Albedo would be very happy with us if we were to go shopping instead of helping Her Grace complete her mission.”

  Razor observed the mask warily.  “Look different,” he muttered. “Look fierce, but not fierce like wolf. Dragon fierce. Scarier.”

  Cara chuckled at his comments. “I promise I’m not going to start breathing fire and burning down villages. Even if I were to turn into a dragon, I’d be a good one. One Stormterror incident for Monstadt is enough.” She turned to Kaeya. “What do you think?”

  “It is truly a beautiful piece of art,” he said. “I doubt that anyone will want to mess with you while you are wearing it. You know, the legends of old never spoke of the Creator wearing a special mask. However, now? Now I think that many, many people will be depicting you with this on after you defeat the true imposter and reclaim your throne. It suits you. When I look at it, I still feel like I’m talking to the same person underneath. That, I appreciate.”

  “I’m glad you guys love it as much as I do. Thank you so much, Fischl and Oz. I won’t let this mask get destroyed like the last one. From now on, it goes into my backpack if I ever need to use a teleport waypoint again.”

  “We are glad you like it, Your Grace,” Oz said. “May it bring you eternal protection and good luck. I certainly believe we are ready to infiltrate the city of winds, now.”

  “Yes, I agree,” Noelle said. “Where is it you wish to go, Your Grace? I will be sure to take you there safely.”

  Cara lifted the mask and looked out at Monstadt. She saw the steeples of the church and heard the bell begin to ring. The wind blew, leaving her with an unsettling feeling of eyes boring into the back of her skull. She thought she could smell cecilias.

  “The cathedral,” she answered. “We need to make it there without anyone seeing us.”

  “Oh.” Noelle’s voice lost its optimism. “That…should prove to be a bit of a problem. You see, I’ve memorized the times of day that the church holds mass services in case I must be there to help with anything. And, if I’m correct about this, there should be one going on right now. We would be going in the middle of it.”

  “The cathedral is also pretty far from the city entrances,” Bennett added. “This won’t be like the last time we snuck in. It’s the middle of the afternoon, there’s going to be so many people around.”

  “That is what the mask is for, dear Bennett,” Fischl told him.

  “Exactly! Cara’s the only one with a mask! How’re Razor, Kaeya, and I going to get in without being recognized? We’re wanted criminals!”

  “I have an idea!” Klee piped up. “Your Grace, can I add to the big plan? Please, please, please? I know just what to do!” She whispered excitedly into her ear.

  A grin split Cara’s face. “Oh, Klee, that sounds awesome.”

  Klee’s eyes were sparkling. “You really think so?”

  “What are you two planning over there?” Kaeya asked. “Don’t tell me you're planning on blowing up Monstadt’s walls to get us in.”

  “Well…I wouldn’t say her idea is that extreme,” Cara said. “But it does involve blowing things up. Alright, I think we might have a plan to put in motion.”

  A few minutes later, Cara was crouched in a crowding of bushes with Noelle. They were near Monstadt’s side gate, and she could see multiple knights standing guard. Since her last escape, Jean seemed to have upped the amount of surveillance around the city. But if their plan worked, these knights would be no problem for them to evade.

  She made eye contact with Fischl, who was again possessing Oz’s form and sitting in a tree. The raven dipped her head in a silent nod, then crowed loudly. That was the signal. Immediately, Klee poked her head out from behind the tree, looked cautiously around, and then frolicked over to the edge of Cider Lake. In her arms was a bunch of Jumpty Dumpty bombs, all of them primed and ready for a round of fish-blasting.

  Sucrose followed closely behind Klee and frequently glanced at the guarding knights with fear in her eyes. Thankfully, they hadn’t been noticed yet. Cara held her breath when she watched Klee pass some of the Jumpty Dumpties to Sucrose. Operation ‘Fish-Blast Distraction Time,’ as Klee had dubbed it, commenced.

  The first bomb was thrown into the lake and went off with a deafening noise, sending an explosion of water rocketing into the sky. Klee laughed gleefully. “Wow, look at how big that explosion was! Come on Sucrose, you try!”

  “Ah-um.” Sucrose held the bombs in front of her like she was afraid they might blow up at the slightest hint of movement. “Okay, h-here I go.” She tossed one of them into the lake. Immediately upon hitting the water, it exploded. Sucrose jumped back and squeaked when water rained down on her.

  Klee clapped her hands and danced in the spray. “Woohoo! Oh, fish-blasting is so much fun!” she purposely yelled. “I really hope no knights see us doing this!”

  “Hey, what’s going on over there?” As hoped for, one of the knights standing guard had heard the commotion and ventured off to investigate. “Klee and Sucrose? What are you two doing?”

  Sucrose floundered for words. “Oh, we were just-um-ah…”

  “Fish-blasting!” Klee finished for her.

  The knight sighed sternly. “You guys know the Acting Grand Master doesn’t like it when those bombs are set off too close to the city. I’m going to need to ask you to stop this immediately, or I’ll be forced to bring you both in to solitary confinement.”

  “Oh no!” Klee feigned horror. She displayed a wonderful performance of throwing up her hands…which sent the remaining Jumpty Dumpties flying towards the knights. All of them reacted as Cara wanted; screaming in alarm as the bombs went off in midair, running in various directions, all of them trying to escape the possibility of being blown to bits.

  In the midst of the chaos, Fischl cawed again. She took to the air and flew through the side gate, going unnoticed by the panicked knights. Cara and Noelle followed, and out from another cluster of bushes, so did Kaeya, Bennett, and Razor. As they ran, she made eye contact with Sucrose, who sent a shaky smile her way and a thumbs up. “Good luck,” the alchemist mouthed, and then resumed throwing Klee’s bombs.

  “I can’t believe that worked,” Bennett said when they were within the city’s walls. “Do you think Sucrose and Klee will be okay?”

  “Oh, I have no doubt the two of them will be just fine,” Kaeya answered. “I would be more worried for the safety of those knights. Let’s hope none of them accidentally end up like the fish Klee enjoys blasting so much.” He examined their surroundings cautiously. “It looks like we’re in the clear. Cara and Noelle, you two head for the cathedral and get that lyre. Bennett, Razor, and I will prepare for your way of escape when you’re done there.”

  Noelle nodded. “Understood.”

  “Are you sure you guys will be safe while getting through the city?” Cara asked them anxiously. “I don’t want you three getting seen or caught.”

   “There is no need to worry, Your Grace.” A mixture of Fischl and Oz’s voices emanated from the night raven perched on the stack of wooden crates near them. “I shall be their eyes. No harm will come to them while I am watching.”

  “We run and stay in the shadows like wolf pack,” Razor said. “We fast, silent, sneaky. This I know how to do. I will show Bennett and Kaeya to do also.”

  “Don’t worry about us, Cara, we’ve got this!” Bennett assured her. “We’ll be okay. Will you be okay, too? What you're doing is a million times more dangerous than what we’re going to go through.”

  “I’ll be alright,” Cara told him. “I know how to fight, and I won’t be alone. Noelle is with me.”

  “That’s right,” Noelle said. “If any harm is to come to Her Grace, my shield will activate to protect her. You can count on me!”

  “See?” Cara smiled. “We’ll be fine. Just promise me you’ll be fine, too?”

  Bennett smiled back. “Of course! We promise, right?”

  Razor grunted in agreement. “Yes!”

  “We’ll be as safe as can be,” Kaeya said. “I swear it. You must promise to be safe too, alright? If anything is to go wrong that is too much for you and Noelle to handle, your Creator’s Call will activate, and we’ll teleport to you.”

  “Knowing that’s a thing makes me feel a lot better,” Cara said. She held a fist out to them. Bennett was the first to bump it back, followed by Razor, and then Kaeya. “I promise Noelle and I will get out of there alive. We’ll be back together before you guys know it.”

  “Yeah, that’s the spirit!” Bennett moved with enthusiasm and started for the staircase that would bring them up to the main level of the city. “Come on! Operation Steal the Lyre is a-go!”

  “But I thought Klee named mission Fish-Blast Distraction time,” Razor said when he followed him.

  “No, that was the last mission,” Bennett explained. “This one is different. There are two missions that make up the entire plan, you see?”

  Razor thought it over carefully. “I think…I understand. Yes, this is new mission. Mission where we act, like wolf pack hunting deer!”

  “Uh, yeah, exactly!” Bennett agreed. “But instead of hunting deer, we’re hunting a lyre and a way to make our final escape!”

  “Those two are certainly quite the characters,” Kaeya said to Cara with a fond sigh.

  Cara chuckled. “This wouldn’t be the same without them. Please, watch over them and keep them safe. And don’t forget to keep yourself safe too, alright? Remember what I said at Albedo’s camp. I don’t want you dying on me.”

  Kaeya smiled reassuringly. “Understood. You do the same, as well. Be careful. Stay safe.”

  They parted ways with Kaeya, Bennett, and Razor ducking into the alleys of buildings and disappearing into the shadows. Fischl followed them from the air soundlessly. Cara adjusted her mask to make sure it was covering her entire face. “Ready?” she asked Noelle.

  The other girl nodded. “Ready. Let's go.”

  Cara was on edge as her and Noelle walked calmly, yet quickly, through the streets of Monstadt. Though her mask was secure and no one paid her any sort of mind, she still couldn’t help but feel like she was being watched. Noelle had been right about the wanted posters; they covered what felt like every available surface, from the sides of buildings to even the front doors of stores and restaurants. There also was an incredible influx of knights patrolling the streets. Every time she saw the crest of the shield and double swords, anxiety shot through her.

  “Noelle,” she said. “Are you sure no one is going to stop us?”

  “Hm? Oh, most likely not,” Noelle replied. “I am well known by practically every knight in Monstadt. They trust me completely, and have no reason to think I’m doing something against the law.”

  “What about getting into the cathedral’s basement?” Cara avidly remembered one of the quests back from Genshin Impact’s prologue that was awfully similar to their current situation. “From what I know, getting in there won’t be easy. We need signed papers and permission from both Jean and the Church of Favonius.”

  “No need to worry about that,” Noelle assured her. “I have all three.”

  “Wait. Y-you do?”

  “Yup! I’m sometimes called in to help tidy up the church’s basement every few weeks. Both Jean, Barbara, and Cardinal Calvin signed off on the papers, allowing me to enter and leave at my leisure. They trust me not to steal or break anything…well, they used to, I guess I should say. But that’s not the important thing! What matters is that we won’t be stopped when we go in!”

  “Noelle…” Shame hit Cara’s heart when she thought about her being punished for breaking the trust of both the knights and the church. “You don’t have to do this. I can get in and out of the church on my own. I don’t want you getting caught.”

  “Your Grace, don’t say such nonsense!” Noelle insisted. “I want you to know that I don’t regret choosing to help you, not for a single moment! To stand by your side is a privilege and an honor. You have no idea how happy I am to have been spared from being infected by the Madness plaguing people’s minds. Even if my friends decide to turn against me after they find out I’m helping you, I won’t abandon my duty as one of your Vessels. I know that by doing this, I’m going to give you a chance to save everyone! So please, don’t feel guilty. I am choosing this path. Rest assured no one is forcing me.”

  She sounded so earnest, and her words were so sincere. Cara knew Noelle was not one to lie. So despite still feeling guilty, she smiled beneath her mask and looked forward. “Thank you for staying by my side, Noelle.”

  “Thank you for giving me the opportunity to do so, Your Grace.” Noelle’s tone softened when they entered the courtyard of the cathedral. “Let’s continue this conversation later, though. There are too many sisters and knights around here that could hear us. Just follow my lead, alright? I’ll keep you safe.”

  The courtyard was alive with activity, with far more people than Cara anticipated mingling with each other and going to and fro. At the center of it all stood the statue of Barbatos, which, to her surprise, was much larger than how it looked in Genshin Impact. At its feet, a group of sisters were praying with the people, their hands folded piously. Cara could hear some of what they were saying: “Lord Barbatos, protect us. Lord Barbatos, watch over us.”

  Two young children ran past them, laughing while they played. The scent of flowers was in the air, and when Cara peered up at the top of the Barbatos statue, she saw that its head and arms were decorated with woven cecilias. She paused to simply observe the people around her, heart swelling with a strange sense of proudness and pride. When they weren’t trying to hunt her down and kill her, Monstadt’s people were so good. Teyvat’s people were good. She wished she could join them in their happiness.

  “It must mean a lot to you, to see your creations thriving in this way,” Noelle said. She, too, was smiling.

  “I’m not the Caratrice who created this.” Cara gestured to the liveliness of the courtyard. “I could never create something this wonderful. Whatever I’ve made can’t compare to it.”

  “Hm. You are right about one thing. You aren’t the original Caratrice. But even so, you are still her legacy. That means you are destined for greatness.” The bell of the cathedral started to toll. Noelle looked at the bell tower. “That’s our sign that the mass has reached its halfway point. Let’s go sit in for the rest so we don’t seem overly suspicious.”

  Every head of the gathered congregation turned to look at her and Noelle when they slipped into the cathedral. The large wooden doors echoed shut behind them, temporarily competing with the mighty music of the organ being belted out through the giant chamber. All eyes were on them for only a moment, because everyone’s attention immediately returned to the booming voice of the cardinal saying mass when they saw Noelle there-she really was so well known throughout the city that her presence put people at ease. The young cardinal was not someone who Cara recognized, but with the way he spoke, it was clear to her that he was the one in charge of the prayer service.

  “That’s Cardinal Calvin,” Noelle whispered to her. “He’s taken over the duties of leading the church while the Seneschal is away. We must try not to gain unwanted attention from him. Follow my lead.” She steered Cara to the farthest pew from the altar, which was, thankfully, empty for them. “Act like you are praying and follow along with the mass.”

  Cara silently nodded, too afraid to speak a word. She was such an infamous person throughout Monstadt now that even allowing strangers to hear her voice could be a threat to her safety. She did as Noelle said, facing the front of the church just as everyone else was. The interior was not an exact copy of the one she saw frequently in Genshin Impact: rather, it was much more detailed, with a gigantic stained glass window of Barbatos looking over the congregation right above the altar and organ. The god’s image had his arms outstretched, with various kinds of native Monstadt birds fluttering around him, cecilias and windwheel asters held in their beaks. His wings, open wide, were accented in multiple shades of light blue to beautifully coincide with the white of his feathers. The entire building was lit up with bursts of color brought out by the rays of the sun traveling through the stained glass windows all throughout the church. Cara was moved by the sight; she didn’t consider herself a particularly religious person, but she could see why the people of Monstadt worshiped Barbatos so dutifully, despite him being absent from their nation for years. He wasn’t just the god of the wind or of freedom. He was the god of beauty as well.

  “Let us kneel,” Cardinal Calvin announced. The congregation shuffled to their knees. Cara followed suit, mimicking Noelle when she lowered herself onto the wooden kneelers that stuck out from underneath the pews. The maid dipped her head reverently and closed her eyes, whispering a single quiet prayer. “Kyrie eleison.” Latin. Lord, have mercy.

  Cardinal Calvin’s voice was like a thunderclap. “The lord, the Mighty One, is Barbatos. He knows, and may Monstadt also know.”

  “Kyrie eleison.”

  “The lord, Barbatos, knows the secrets of our hearts. Our guilt is not hidden from him.”

  “Kyrie eleison.”

  Cara’s mask felt heavy against her face. She stared at the great image of Barbatos. Half-lidded eyes, kind. A tender smile, arms and wings beckoning. Come and face me.

  “Kyrie eleison.”

  “He knows your secrets.”

  The air was stuffy and thick with the scent of church. Heart heavy. Guilt starting to weigh her down.

  “Secrets.”

  Those eyes were looking right at her. No longer kind; rather, mocking. Amused. I know. I know. Kyrie eleison. Lord, have mercy. Barbatos, have mercy. Pray. Pray for mercy. Stealing from the divine. Fighting someone you love. He wants to kill you. He will lift his weapon against you and pierce your heart with the power of a thousand winds. Will you retaliate? Will you forgive him? Will he forgive you?

  She pressed her clasped hands over her mask and closed her eyes to silently pray. The kneeler’s wood dug uncomfortably into the skin of her knees. I don’t want to do this. I don’t want to fight him. I’m scared. I’m guilty. I love him. Barbatos, please, if you can hear me, give me a sign that it won’t have to come down to a fight. Show me that there’s still a part of you that remembers who I am.

  She received no answer. Barbatos had abandoned her in her time of need.

  How typical of the divine.

  The rest of the mass went by in a blur. Cara did not pay much attention beyond following Noelle’s actions and trying to make herself look like she belonged there. When the closing song ended and the congregation shuffled out of their pews and through the doors of the church, the two of them stayed behind. Noelle tapped Cara’s elbow, signaling it was time for them to move. She complied without a word, feeling dazed.

  “The cathedral empties out after masses,” Noelle explained. “But there will be knights guarding the lyre. We will have to be extra careful not to get caught.” She paused when Cara didn’t respond. “Your Grace, are you alright?”

  Cara staggered dizzily. “No,” she struggled to say, the single word sticking to her tongue like taffy.

  “Oh dear. Are you feeling ill? Do you need anything? Food? Water?” Noelle fretted over her like a mother hen. “Tell me what you need and I’ll give it to you!”

  She felt like she was in a dream. Her heart felt heavy with guilt and fear. Everything felt stifling, like the air was slowly being sucked out of her lungs.

   Sucked out of my lungs…

  A disturbing prospect popped into Cara’s mind. She realized, to her horror, that the air actually could be leaving her slowly. Barbatos could control the wind, but what was stopping him from controlling air in general? She grabbed Noelle’s hands and pushed her forward slightly, panicked. “I can’t stay here,” she whispered urgently. “Barbatos, he’s watching me, watching us. We need to go.”

  “Barbatos?” Noelle looked confused. “How can you tell? Can you sense him? Your Grace?”

  Beyond the sound of her voice, Cara began to hear something else. It started off quiet, but rapidly grew louder. Her ears focused on it against their will. The plucking of a lyre. The tune of an ominous song.

  She turned around to look back at the cathedral’s front doors. And there, sitting in one of the pews, was Venti. He raised his gaze to meet hers, and smiled that same dangerous smile she had seen him wear at the Cat’s Tail. “Well, then? What are you staring at me for?” he asked. “I’m not done having my fun with you. Don’t be shy. Go.”

   “Your Grace!” She was wrenched out of the trance by Noelle. “Your Grace, what’s wrong? You were staring out into space just now!”

  Cara felt like she had been dreaming. She stared blankly at Noelle, then looked back at the pew Venti had been sitting in. He was gone, as if he had never been there at all. Perhaps he hadn’t. The song the bard was playing on his lyre had disappeared, too. It was just her and Noelle in an empty church again. Even the air had returned to normal.

  “He’s making me see things,” she whispered. Of course, she had known Venti was capable of creating illusions, but she hadn’t thought his abilities would be this influential. Never underestimate a god, I suppose.

  Troubled, Noelle tried bringing her over to the nearest pew. “Your Grace, you are not well. Why don’t you sit down for a moment, and we can take some time to rest? Maybe that would help you feel better?”

  “Did you not see someone sitting over there just now?” Cara asked her, pointing to the back of the church.

  “No, I didn’t. It’s just been us here since the mass ended. You were talking about Barbatos watching you, and then you went silent. I was calling your name, but it was like you couldn’t hear me.”

  Cara breathed in, and out. Don’t panic. No panicking. Venti was obviously here, but he was only trying to intimidate her. As long as he wasn’t trying to actively kill her, she couldn’t stop. “Let’s keep going.”

  Noelle protested. “But-!”

  “I promise I’m fine. The air in here is just a little thin.” Cara forced her legs to move. She took the lead, heading to the front of the altar. The staircase descending into the depths of the building was not hard to find. They were exactly where she remembered them being from when she completed Monstadt’s Archon Quest.

  Noelle was still obviously a bit shaken up, but she didn’t try to stop Cara again. “When we go down there, we will have to be as stealthy as possible. There will be many knights and members of the church staff.”

  “I’m ready. Let’s go.”

  The staircase brought them down, down, down, spiraling deeper and deeper with the stone walls closing in. Just when Cara thought it was never going to end-that maybe this was another one of Venti’s tricks-they arrived at their destination, walking out onto a stone balcony. Noelle ushered her to crouch, and together, the two of them peeked over the ledge to see what they were dealing with. The basement was mainly filled with bookshelves and desks, most likely holding various sorts of religious documents and texts. Far on the other end of the vast room, Cara could see the Holy Lyre der Himmel sitting on a pedestal with a light shining upon it like a homing beacon. Scattered through their way were indeed many knights.

  “They sure do take guarding the lyre seriously,” Cara muttered.

  “They have to in case people try stealing it,” Noelle whispered. “Church protocols. But not to worry, I know the best ways to sneak by them. Just follow me.”

  They slowly made their way towards the lyre. The knights were digilent and attentive. There were moments when Cara thought they were going to be caught for sure. But Noelle was true to her word, and led the way without any hiccups. When they made it to the pedestal, the lyre was before them like the ultimate prize. Its wood was scuffed, and the metal was tarnished, a clear sign of its old age.

  “It doesn’t look very holy,” Cara whispered.

  “No, it doesn’t,” Noelle whispered back. “But this is definitely it. They wouldn’t have this much security for an ordinary lyre. Go and take it, quickly. I’ll stand guard and watch.”

  Cara stepped up to the pedestal and placed her hands on the lyre. Immediately, she felt a faint presence of Anemo lingering on it. This was indeed the Holy Lyre der Himmel. If things went right, taking this would draw Venti to her and give her the chance to take his gnosis.

  “Venti,” she breathed, then paused. No, that isn’t right. She wasn’t trying to talk to Venti right now. “Barbatos.”

  The air around her vibrated. “I know you can hear me,” she continued. “You're here right now, watching me, right? I’m about to take your lyre. You know what I want for it in return.”

  “Your Grace,” Noelle said urgently. “I’d suggest we hurry. If we stay here any longer, they’ll find us.”

  “If you want your lyre back, come and find me. No illusions. No tricks. If you don’t-” She hesitated over her next words, knowing she was playing with fire. “If you don’t, I’ll break it with my bare hands.”

  “Your Grace, it’s time to go!” Noelle hissed.

  Cara grabbed the lyre and stuffed it into her backpack. She followed Noelle back the route they came, evading the knights with rushed urgency. Surely it wouldn’t take long for the knights to realize that the thing they were guarding had mysteriously disappeared, but hopefully by the time they did, she and Noelle would be long gone.

  “This is going far smoother than I thought it would,” she said when they arrived back in the cathedral.

  “If we are being honest with one another, I thought it would be harder to take it, too.” Noelle exhaled. “That was quite nerve-wracking and not at all what I’m used to helping people with. Um…you are planning on returning the lyre, right?”

  “Oh, yeah, of course! All I need to do is play a song on it to summon Barbatos. After that, I’ll find some way to get it back here safely.”

  They were about to push through the church’s doors, and Cara a little lighter. They were home free! Their plan had actually worked! They were-!

  “Stop! Noelle, please wait!”

  A voice rang out through the church. Cara’s hand was inches away from the door, their access to freedom within an arm’s reach. But a hushed “Oh no,” from Noelle made her stop and turn to see who exactly had called out to them.

  It wasn’t one of the knights from the basement. It wasn’t a churchgoer or regular civilian, either. And thank god it wasn’t Venti-though she really wasn’t exactly sure why he wasn’t trying harder to stop her even though he knew she was here. Rushing towards them, heels clicking frantically against the tile of the floor, was Barbara.

  “Oh, Barbara!” Noelle’s voice was overly cheerful. “It’s wonderful to see you! Do you need help with something?”

  “Yes!” Barbara avidly answered. “Yes, I definitely need your help right now! Someone has stolen the Holy Lyre der Himmel!”

  Cara was thankful she was wearing a mask, because she could only imagine how terrified she looked right now. Noelle’s face twisted with horror, which, she could imagine, was definitely not a class expression. “S-Stolen?” she stammered. “How? When?”

  “I don’t know how it happened! There are so many knights guarding it, I would have imagined it to be impossible for any thief to get by all of them without being seen!” Barbara looked like she was about to collapse. “I was cleaning out one of the old record drawers in the basement when it happened. A knight ran to me and told me someone stole it only a few moments ago! Whoever did this must have been studying the patterns of the guard’s routines for weeks!”

  Cara glanced at Noelle. The maid glanced back and looked momentarily panicked. “W-Well, don’t worry, Barbara,” she said. “We’ll find the thief! I know we will!”

  “You-you don’t think Her Grace’s imposter was the one who stole it, do you?” Barbara asked. “Why would she want the holy lyre? Must she also taint Lord Barbatos’ good name, too?”

   Lord Barbatos’ good name my ass, Cara thought bitterly. Noelle glanced at her again, silently begging her to keep quiet. “If it was the imposter, then we must track her down and bring her to justice. I’ll go and report this to Jean. You should stay here, uh, in case the thief comes back to steal anything else.”

  “There’s no need for you to leave.”

  A new voice joined them. From the shadows of the church’s corners, a menacing figure emerged. When Cara saw Rosaria, she felt her blood turn as cold as the Cryo the sister could conjure with her Vision.

  “Sister Rosaria!” Barbara said, surprised. “When did you get here? Were you there the entire time?”

  Rosaria ignored the questions. “You don’t have to go tracking the imposter down, because the imposter hasn’t gone anywhere. You’ve been standing before her the entire time.”

  “What?” Barbara questioned. “You mean Noelle?”

  Rosaria sighed wearily. “No, I’m not talking about her. I’m talking about the girl with the mask on.”

  Barbara looked at Cara like she had just realized she was there. “Huh? This person is the imposter? B-but she’s with Noelle! Why would she…I don’t think I understand…Noelle, you're helping the imposter? But that means you stole the holy lyre!”

  “Barbara, you don’t understand the urgency of the situation,” Noelle tried to plead. “All of this has been a big misunderstanding.”

  “Has it? Or are you just trying to cover your own tracks?” Rosaria’s words cut like ice. “Just admit it, you're on the imposter’s side. No use in hiding it anymore.”

  “I-I’m not afraid to admit it! I am helping the imposter. But she isn’t an imposter at all! This is Her Grace, and I’ve sworn to protect her at all costs!”

  Barbara slammed her heart over her chest and let out a mournful cry. “You're even referring to her by the Creator’s holy title! How could you? Noelle, this goes beyond stealing the holy lyre! This-this is sacrilege!”

  Rosaria rolled her eyes. “Barbara, you should go and tell Jean what’s happening here. I’ll take care of the imposter.”

  “I can’t! They’re in possession of a sacred artifact! It’s my duty to-”

  “This fight has nothing to do with you. I was appointed to be one of the people to hunt the imposter down. I’m fulfilling what was asked of me by doing this. Go, now. The lyre won’t be damaged in any way, so you don’t have to worry about it.”

  Barbara hesitated. She looked at Cara, then at Rosaria, and then ran for the church doors. Her movement snapped Cara out of her fearful stupor. “Wait!” she yelled, running after her. “Barbara, just listen to me for a moment-!”

  Great shards of ice formed in her path. Cara backpedaled away from them to avoid being potentially stabbed. Barbara’s exit was ensured; she could do nothing but watch helplessly as the deaconess fled.

  “If it makes you feel any better, which it probably won’t,” Rosaria said, “this isn’t personal. I’m just doing my job to make sure no one gets hurt. I honestly couldn’t care less if you're an imposter or not.” Her polearm appeared with a flick of her wrist. “Religious crap doesn’t matter to me. But the safety of Monstadt’s people does. By killing you, I’m making sure they stay alive.”

  Cara backed away slowly, looking for a way she and Noelle could escape. Another set of ice shards had formed in front of the church’s side doors, officially sealing them inside. “How does that way of thinking make any sense?” she yelled.

  “I’m sure you’ve heard of the ‘Creator’ that’s sitting on the Crossroads throne right now?” Rosaria replied. “Yeah, she’s not a nice person. Not a great leader, either. The more dedicated Vessels, like Barbara, look to her with love and admiration, and all she gives them in return is pain. We follow her orders because the relationship between us and her is one built by fear.”

  Cara was taken aback. “She…she hurts you?”

  Rosaria nodded. “If we don’t follow her orders, she punishes us. She uses some sort of magic to get into our heads, with her control over some stronger than others. Me, I’ve been lucky. I don’t hear her voice often, and she barely interacts with me. But with others like Jean and Barbara? They’re completely wrapped around her finger. If anyone tries to disobey her, she’ll turn us against each other. I’ve seen her use Eula to nearly break Amber’s arm. I’ve watched her take control of Barbara’s body and nearly drown a man simply because she felt like it. She’s furious you haven’t been killed yet. If you keep getting away, she’s going to start hurting people again. So, I’ll do whatever I can to keep Monstadt safe, even if it means doing the dirty work of a tyrannical god. Like I said, it’s nothing personal. These are just my orders. I promise I’ll at least make it quick.”

  There was no arguing, no pleading, and no further words. Rosaria lunged for Cara with her polearm aimed straight for her throat.

[reblog-house]

An Alien Find

Characters: Gem, Pearl

Wc: 987

Written for @flashfictionfridayofficial prompt 251, “Out There”

Ao3: Here!

When Gem settled on the mountain with her dwarf friend, Impulse, it wasn’t just because of its advantageous position, far away from civilization and with a river on the skirts of the mountain.

The landscape across from her… there was no word for it other than alien.

No, not magical. She knew magic better than most and it didn’t look like that. Hills that twisted and rolled. Platforms of soil, forming natural underpasses. Trees of colors she never would have imagined possible. Purple, blue, pines of yellow and orange. Crystal flowers. Vines that supported their own weight, growing up in the air. And over one of the hills…

A mushroom. Towering over nearly everything. Teal. Like two heads of a bird, sprouting from an orange stem. Nothing about it felt… earthly.

And next to it, a flower, the only thing that stood taller than the mushroom. Its petals reached out like tentacles into the skies. Its roots shaped the soil around it like a magnet, green tubes that left the ground. From afar, you could confuse them for moss-ridden bridges.

But not everything was natural, and that interested her just as much. Builds sprawled over the landscape. Grey, but not stone. And a tower, though it was unfair to just call it that. It stood as tall as the flower and mushroom. Multiple layers of different colors and shapes. Rings floated around it. 

And they were empty. 

So far, Impulse and her hadn’t seen anyone around. No one who could’ve built or lived in those buildings. And yet, they weren’t crumbling from disrepair.

Neither had crossed the river yet, fearing what could reside there, all the same.

They still chose that spot to live in because sometimes, the views were worth the risk.

And anyway, their distance was changing today! She thought she saw some movement, as she was setting up base — a bigger one, not the small treehouse she was currently living in. It was nice, but obviously temporary. She was an elf. Sure, she may have been exiled for befriending a dwarf and also her many crimes of treason with said dwarf and some beheadings here and there, but she still had standards. And those standards were a big castle with a dungeon where she could display the heads of her enemies.

And so, she filled herself with courage and buckled her sword. 

One could never be too careful.

Impulse was too busy doing dwarf things underground and she wanted to do this on her own. Still, she called out to him, just in case, and when he didn’t respond, she shrugged. She was intimidating enough on her own. And if the being wasn’t intimidated by her at first, they would quickly learn to adapt.

She slipped on her wooden glider wings, something she and Impulse designed for quick get-aways, and with a running start, jumped off the mountain.

The closer she got, the more she was hit with how gorgeous it all looked. 

She descended gracefully in front of the buildings and closed her wings. She unsheathed her blade.

Slowly, she approached the main building’s gates. 

The crushing of grass behind her made her swivel, sword outstretched, her braid whipping from the movement. 

“Oi, mate! Careful with that thing, you almost hit me!”

Gem’s eyes widened and her arm lingered uncertain as she processed the message and what she was looking at.

A woman was standing there. Human, by the look of things, but you could never be too certain. Tall, long brown hair, a sloped nose, friendly looking eyes, and some very strange clothes. Forest green… not quite breeches, that extended over her torso, covering a black shirt. And on her head, the strangest thing of all, a helmet without face protection. Orange, and with a texture she couldn’t recognize. Actually, her boots seemed to be of a similar material.

Gem took a step back, certain with her sword. “Who are you?” she asked with a threat in her voice.

The other got the memo and stepped back too, arms still in front of her. “Wh— I should be asking you! You burst into my home and threaten me?”

That got Gem to finally lower her sword. “This is your home?”

The lady looked around with mild panic and then deflated. “Yes.” Then, her eyes shone, body re-energized. “Oh, you must be one of the new neighbours! You’re human, right?”

She looked too eager, asking that.

“Uh…”

“Oh, are you not?”

Gem pointed at her ears and the woman nodded absently.

“Right… So, not human?”

“... No?”

Okay, whatever that lady was, she definitely was not a human, like she’d thought. They’d have to keep a close eye on her.

“And your friend? The short one?”

“A dwarf.”

The definitely-not-human lady took a second and then pouted. “Okay.”

“What, you looking for humans?”

“W-well, of course I am looking for my people!”

Right, so that’s how they were doing things. Gem decided to play along.

“I see!” She looked over the constructions. “And they aren’t in one of those buildings?”

The stranger shook her head. “No, I don’t know what happened. I’m trying to study what happened to the– to my people. They were all here and one day, they disappeared. I figured if you two were humans too… you may have an idea of what happened.”

“Sorry, no.” Gem genuinely was sorry. “I was too busy trying to commit regicide.”

“Oh.” Their eyes met. “And that is?”

Gem brushed it off with her hand. “Don’t worry about it.”

“Okay…” The woman sounded unconvinced. “Oh, you asked for my name. I’m Pearlescent Moon. Pearl, for short.”

“Nice to meet you, Pearl.” Gem stretched out a hand. “Gemini Tay. Gem.”

Pearl looked at the hand for a long moment, frowning, then met her gaze. “Um, nice to meet you too, Gem! I’ll have to meet your ‘dwarf’ friend next!”

Yes, she would definitely have to.

[miekasa]

earth bender todo is a no brainer he’s built like a rock lol. curious about your views on the other elements for the rest of the cast?

Airbenders: Satoru, Yuuta

Gojo is everybody’s problem. Just hovers (literally) around people’s conversations, makes wind to mess up your hair, “Why would I walk over there when I could float over there?,” already tall enough to hold something over someone else’s head and the added advantage of air bending would not help. Absolutely the fucking worst. Besides, can’t you see him having an Appa… pray for the greater good of the world.

Poor, poor Yuuta quite literally only has Satoru as his mentor because where are the other airbenders? Who knows, but not here. He’s a little clumsy for an airbender at first, but eventually finds his footing. He’s also too timid at first, not wanting to use bending to attack because what if he accidentally takes the air out or someone’s lungs? What if he uses air bending and pushes someone too far and they get seriously hurt? What if he makes someone choke or suffocate? He would hate himself :(

It takes sometime, but he gets comfortable. Definitely no wise air nomad, but pretty strong with Satoru’s help. He still trips and falls, but at least now he knows how to make one of those little air balls to cushion his fall. Never learns to use a glider for everyone’s safety.

Waterbenders: Inumaki, Megumi, Nanami?

Toge just makes sense here. Give him a backstory similar to Amon in tlok, minus the whole villain arc; his family basically forced him to train and use his water bending/blood bending to their advantage. Makes him hesitant to use to later to seriously harm someone, even if it would save him. He’s not above using his bending for pranks like splashing Maki’s tea in her face, tho.

Don’t know if Megumi ever quite gets the bloodbending thing down, but he does learn to heal pretty proficiently. Still holds a grudge against Satoru for sending him half way across the world to hone his healing abilities, but he admits it made him better in the end. Despite the fact that waterbenders hail from the polar ends of the Earth, Megumi does not like the cold and he will let it be known.

Nanami is a toss up bc I feel like he fits both the water bending and fire bending roles :// he’s just that good :// the waterbender version of him is definitely a healer like Megumi, but the firebending version of him 100% has Azula’s blue flames. Doesn’t consider himself a true “master” regardless, even though anyone who has ever met him would beg to differ.

Earthbenders: Todo, Yuuji?

Todo is a no brainer. Doesn’t have the refined taste for metal bending, but lavabending? Yeah. Complains about getting called to do all the manual labor, but loves knowing that he’s literally strong enough to move the Earth underneath him and that even a volcano doesn’t stand a chance against him. Fantastic, 10/10

The Bolin to Yuuji pipeline is real and it will be studied. Yuuji would accidentally discover he can metalbend and then can never bring himself to do it when he needs to 😭😭 he’s trying his best. Nobara frequently says he’s dumb as a rock and laughs because she thinks it’s clever.

Firebenders: Nobara, Nanami?, Shoko, hear me out when I say Yuuji too but at this point I think avatar Yuuji is the supreme concept

Only other path for Nobara is an earth bender akin to Toph, but something about her being Azula’s less evil reincarnate sits so right with me, but also with Ty Lee’s… whatever that acrobatic shit she had going on was. She’s just that good, she’s just that girl. Refuses to make Yuuji’s drink hot again just because he forgot about it and it got cold—unless he promises to make her a bracelet out of a good gemstone she finds.

Once again, torn for Nanami. You already know the Iroh comparison is there, too. He’s not as flashy of a bender as someone like Nobara, but that doesn’t mean he’s not talented. He knows that he has to be precise in his firebending lest he destroy something or burn someone he cares about. Uses other bending forms to enhance his use and understanding of firebending.

It seems easy to make Shoko a waterbender and healer, but something about her smoking leads me down the firebender with combustion path. Maybe not… from her forehead like the ones we’ve seen in atla and tlok, but somehow it’s still there. Plus this way she doesn’t need to rely on anyone to light her cigarette to begin with, winwin, girlboss on the move.

Back again with Yuuji, but like I said, I think we just need to accept that avatar Yuuji is the only route that will truly suffice. Maybe we just start by saying he was born a firebender, and Nanami starts out at his first and primary tutor. He’s the one who introduces Yuuji to Satoru—and even though Kento threatens Satoru when he finds out he’s had Yuuji working on an air ball instead of any technical air bending for the past month—it all works out in the end. Yuuji’s a playful airbender, but hones in on the spiritual importance in the end, too. Megumi protests for months against being his waterbending master, until he finally breaks down. Todo through a rock at Yuuji the first time they were introduced, but Yuuji managed to throw it back without any knowledge of earthbending at that point and it was smooth sailing from there.

Non-benders: Maki, Mai

If Nobara is our un-evil Azula, then Maki and Mai are her Mai and Ty Lee, respectively. Maki never misses her targets and Mai has too much fun reducing benders to non-bending puddles with just a few punches.

[diamond-dangeresque]

Day 4 — Elder Dragon

1335AE, the Jade Sea; "Mother's Lament"

The glider slowly descends into the cavern beneath Chihiro, a semi-dark locale partially made of temple construct and hollowed jade. Even from up here he can see Aurene. Kind of hard not to, really, what with her own bioluminescence sparkling even far down in the dark. As he got closer to the ground, he saw the other figure down below, a sickly-looking serpentine figure coiled unto herself with fading azure scales.

This was it, he tells himself. Soo-Won is on her last breaths. Not much longer before the Dragonvoid consumes her, not much longer until that needs to be put down as well. There were a lot of strange feelings about Soo-Won. He kept them to himself for the time being. No use bothering anyone about his personal grievances with the Elder Dragon of Water, Creation, and Possibilities. And especially given that last bit, he figures to be of the three (alongside Aurene and Glint) who know the truth behind that third sphere of influence.

The Herald feels his feet touch the ground, actual solid dirt and stone as opposed to solidified inner sea water or polished mainland brick and marble. Aurene is laying next to Soo-Won, doing her best to nuzzle her dying great-grandmother. The only family she's ever gotten to talk with, to actually meet face-to-face in the flesh, the oldest of the Elder Dragons and she's dying and there's nothing that can be done except to make sure her suffering isn't prolonged any further. It feels like a cruel joke. To see your impending loneliness creep up on you. To realize you really will have to bear this burden alone, and the person responsible for this is now a buried half-burnt corpse. Chihiro was surprised Aurene doesn't get angrier. More indignant, maybe. She carries this grief of her own with a grace he laments not having himself when he was younger.

"Ah," Soo-Won hisses, a voice strained by disease and injury, "the Herald arrives." Her facial whiskers sway in the windless air, slowly reaching towards Chihiro. Yes, yes. Kuunavang did not speak as highly of the Revenant as she did of the Ritualist before him, but Aurene's testimony proved a good second opinion to the more...biased report from her direct progeny. "Come, child. Come closer."

Chihiro didn't know how to really respond to all this. For so many years, it had always been strike down the dragons, slay the dragons, crush the dragons. Aurene was always the exception because she was deigned the exception, from before she even hatched all the way to now. The dragons were dangerous, the dragons were malicious, the dragons consumed with an endless hunger that threatened the very existence of Tyria as we knew it. And for the most part it rang true. Zhaitan was a mindless horde, a living undead hunger with a body built to contain it; Mordremoth wanted all life but his own smothered beneath or mulched to feed his plantfolk; Kralkatorrik's rampage threatened not only Elona but the Mists itself, his desire to defy fate his own undoing (what cruel, cruel irony); Jormag and Primordus were menaces to the Norn and Asura for centuries even before their empowerment from their siblings dying, and even now Tyria recovers from their brotherly dispute.

For so many long years, Aurene was the only exception. There was Vlast, once, but he never lived long enough to fulfill that obligation with his sister. There was Glint, their mother, made an exception through exceptional work from the Forgotten at the bidding of their Humanly-Divine masters. And now here is Soo-Won, living testament that perhaps the Dragons could have been different at their very core. They all could have been different. Yet here we are, and soon Aurene will be the only exception again.

No more Dragonrises. No more lost civilizations and lost knowledge. No more fear of the underground, the deep cold, the dark jungles, the crystalline deserts, of the dead and dying. But also: no more family. No more familiarity. No more of the feeling that you belong to a group of someones. Chihiro pets Aurene's scales, smooth to the touch with their glimmer dimming just a bit as his hand brushes over. In that final way, they could relate to a scary degree. Growing up without your family. Growing up as the last being of your world.

"I apologize," Soo-Won whispers, her voice crackling with further debilitation. The Dragonvoid was hollowing her. It was proving harder and harder to remain who she is as the seconds and minutes tick by. Aurene's presence, as does the Herald's, helps in remaining moored to this chain of consciousness. But its links are weak, only growing weaker. "Our meeting was to be under better circumstances. I did not have enough time."

"None of us did," Aurene responds.

"I only wish I could have tutored you more," she tells Aurene, "and prepared you for the tough responsibilities ahead. It will be long, arduous, and at times very painful."

Aurene's crest-scales fold back down onto her head. Her luster dulls. "I...I have my champion. I have the guidance of my mother through him. I'll be alright."

Soo-Won chuckles. "I am proud of you, Aurene. As your mother is. This world is fragile. Its peoples need love, care, support." But there is a caution in those words. A small fear. Soo-Won is very familiar with mortality in all its myriad forms. She has scars Aurene does not yet bear but will one day have to.

"We've got our communities for that, ma'am," Chihiro pipes up, feeling rather like he wants to hop on a skiff and sail off into the dark waters of this cave than be here. Really, he's only here for Aurene. "Your help is...much appreciated."

This whole ordeal of calming down Soo-Won at the Jade Sea has been nothing but one exhausting event after another. And Chihiro certainly took no pleasure in commanding the Pact's onslaught against the formerly only other friendly dragon in the world, now turned as magic-hungry and dangerous as her children did. Cantha will mourn her departure. Kryta and Elona, maybe not so much. He wants this conversation to be over already. It feels...awkward.

"When was the last time you properly mourned, Commander?" Chihiro can hear Ventari ask, deep from the recesses of his mind. He doesn't answer. (He doesn't like the idea of what this answer looks like.)

The minutes idle away. Aurene continues to show affection to her elder. Chihiro continues to feel out of place in all this.

"Go now, both of you." Soo-Won shivers. Strands of Dragonvoid weave through her, visible just so between the azure scales slowly turning darker and oil-sheened. "My rest here was...brief. Too brief. But thank you both for being here with me as I..." She groans. The strands become larger, working their way towards the elder dragon's head.

"Soo-Won, please, there has to be a way I can—"

"No, child of Glint. I am gone. The Dragonvoid has consumed too much. All you have left is to release what is left of me from this pain."

"No...please..." Aurene rises to her feet. Instinctually Chihiro hops onto the crystal dragon's back, holds on to some upraised shoulder scales. This is going to be rough, he thinks.

"Go." Her voice warbles. She feels her mind unraveling. Not much longer before she drowns in memories of her past, her experiences, her children. Aurene takes off, Chihiro holding on tight as the new Crystal Dragon takes flight towards the Harvest Temple.

[fitzs-space]

In your world how do elytras work/how do they look. I'm currently working on my headcanon ways for how things in minecraft work and I would like know your opinions as I think they are very interesting/cool

-Sincerely, Me

It depends on the player!

[keep in mind my ideas with Elytra’s are very loose, haven’t really put proper thoughts behind them]

But much like armour, players can modify their elytra’s as something that fit they’re aesthetics more. Be it modification to the one’s found, or crafting their own (think how e2 Scott made his elytra. Or the ornithopter's in the create series.) ultimately at the end of the day, most elytra’s are very much just air gliders, and its the rockets/a good kick that actually propel the player. Most times players just like to paint the found elytra's for the easiest modifications. But ultimately no one should fully trust the elytra's that are just found in some old ship, those things are old and sometimes falling apart. Players also need to properly balance their chosen elytra's in order to properly support their weight and, you know, keep them in the air.

There are winged players who will use elytra’s as a layer of protection, like armour, if they do desire. Or even some will use them as aids to actually fly! Just because a player will have wings, it doesn’t ultimately mean they can fly, be it their wings are too small/weak, or their wings are built for gliding rather then actual flight. Can also think of elytra’s as a mobility aid of sorts (Ideas based off this headcanon). Like an extra crutch or aid when it’s too tiresome to constantly fly. Or when the wings themselves are damaged.

Bonus headcanons/ ideas for the hermits themselves

Doc has a completely custom mechanical glider that he’s two seconds from adding rocket boosters to. Scar jokes about it looling like something Buzz lightyear would wear if he was evil Tango also has a more mechanical one, but it’s been fraying and near falling apart for the past year almost, he just refuses to fix it. Etho just uses the default ones that are found in the end, they are really well taken care of though, they'll add stickers or a little paint though. Zedaph likes to try out a new design every other month or so, they'll constantly crash in the until the design works enough to keep them in the air. Trial and many errors he calls it. Scars got a solid stash of elytra's and gliders for the sake of matching whatever outfit he's got on. some of them were built to also work as a wheelchair, many of them are Zeds designs that succeeded. Xisuma has an elytra made out of some clear material, maybe its acrylic or glass, who knows. but there are lights that make them look like a hologram Grian had relearned how to fly but with elytras back in s6 before he was more open about having wings. He did like to use the default elytra's as the everyday option, but would use a feathered one for PoultryMan shenanigans.

[truebluewhocanoe]

The True Blue You- Author Commentary

Author Notes

Hi! This is the extended Author’s Notes for my fic “The True Blue You”, which you should definitely read BEFORE reading this post.

I like the Dr Nyarlathotep niche of Doctor Who fandom a lot. I want more Dr Nyarlathotep content (that isn’t porn). I figured a good way to promote that would be to write out my own thoughts on one of my Dr Nyarlathotep works and talk about how it came together. This is that! Most of this is going to be me talking about particular passages from the fic, the thought that went into them, and the references to other stuff that I’ve snuck in. ✨Let’s begin✨

Commentary

Hence his search for the Zero Room. Wherever he left it. So that he can unravel the extradimensional parts of himself into three-dimensional space and check that everything is in order.

Finding a good word for the Doctor letting out all their Nyarly was hard but I eventually settled on “unravel” and “unfurl”, mainly for the fabric & knitting connotations, because Looms. Aw yeah.

First comes the extraspatial limbs, then the temporal ones. His temporal tendrils and hooks hang in the air around him; vestigial eyes, the crystallised irises of his past bodies, dot his face. He snags a hook on one of his sleeves; he can taste its timeline, senses tracing the thread’s creation and transformation into a garment, tears and stains and cleanings. He deftly unhooks it, then takes a closer look at the sleeve with his fifth set of eyes. Microwave reflections let him peek into the molecular structure. 

First things first: this fic is, as is probably quite obvious to anyone familiar with the Dr Nyarlathotep tag, inspired by “In The Holding Tank I Built For Myself”, which I consider to be more or less the definitive work of this fandom niche. One of the many things I took from Holding Tank and incorporated into my own Dr Nyarlathotep headcanons is the idea that bits of the Doctor’s old bodies get repurposed into their extradimensional body. One of the lines of Holding Tank that stuck out to me the most was the Fifth Doctor’s eyes looking back up at the Doctor- which ends up being pivotal to this fic.

Second: I never actually explain how the Doctor’s clothes adjust to him going Nyarly. I’m not going to explain here, either.

He stretches his wings one set at a time, starting with the small, webbed ones at the base of his primary spine all the way up to the feathered vortex-gliders that span the width of the room when fully outstretched. (And, it should be noted, the Zero Room is much larger than it appears.)

This was inspired by a very old tumblr post (which I can’t find now!!!) headcanoning Time Lords are being, essentially, Time Vortex dragons. The implication is that Time Lords can, in fact, fly around in the vortex under their own power, but use TARDISes to do so the same way we use ships to cross the ocean instead of swimming it. I love this concept and had to weave it in to my personal Nyarly canon.

His hair unspools from short blond curls into nigh-Samsonian locks, closer to fibre-optic cables than keratin follicles. A crown of hard-photon horns sorts the strands, with ivory halos at regular intervals down the length to keep the bundles from separating. He leaves the ends in mind-space where they loop around the TARDIS's psychic docks. He runs his aft right hands through the hairs, untangling knots with crystal-jointed fingers.

I want to say that the Doctor getting extra long glowy anime hair was inspired by Sixie going super saiyan in the PDA The Quantum Archangel and the relevant trope from Dragonball Z, but this section was written within a couple days of the trailer for Xenoblade Chronicles 3 - Future Redeemed coming out, in which another favorite blond character of mine is revealed to have grown out his hair really long, so that’s probably where I actually got the idea from.

Time Lords plugging their hair into their TARDISes to communicate psychically was probably subconsciously inspired by Avatar (the blue people one, not The Last Airbender.)

“Crystal joints” is a phrase I use in another Dr Nyarlathotep fic of mine, A Black Fire Burning, which you could definitely say was the prototype for this fic.

Yes, the Doctor has both halos and horns, and yes, they are used for cable management. Deal with it.

Letting all of himself out is like taking off a corset after a long night.

I’ll let you decide which Doctor out of the First through Fifth has worn a corset. (My money’s on Three.)

She can’t sleep.

You might find some parallels between this fic and my last Who fic, After the Archangel, which also consists of a companion hashing things out with a Doctor after being unable to sleep due to a traumatizing adventure. I guess I have a type.

Which leads her back to the elephant in the room. The Doctor wasn’t like this when she first met her. The Doctor she’d met had been open and amiable and polite. And then he died and left her with someone she didn’t understand. Someone who apparently was not alright in the head after having come back to life, who is supposedly fine now but not the same as the way he was before.

And so we reach the elephant in the room that is this fic: I do not like that Big Finish tried to squeeze in more adventures with the Fifth Doctor and Peri between Planet of Fire and Caves of Androzani. It ruins all the appeal of their dynamic (not to mention the latter episode, one of the most beloved in all of Classic Who) and just isn’t necessary. So yeah, those episodes are not canon to this fic, and in fact you could say that the conflict of this story is in protest of their existence.

This fic hinges on the fact that Peri still would’ve had a bumpy go of things with the Fifth Doctor, because he also wasn’t a very pleasant guy to most of his companions (no shade, that’s just how 80s Who went), and also ran into a ton of extremely horrible situations! Peri’s successful companionship with the Doctor comes in spite of those facts. 

Writing the dynamic (and specifically, power dynamic) between Peri and the Doctor is a very tricky wire to walk but I think I did okay, in the end. The Sixth Doctor and Peri boxset by Big Finish ends on a note of the Doctor and Peri accepting that their life together probably isn’t very sane or healthy, but they do it anyways because they enjoy it. That’s the perspective I was trying to convey here. But that’s jumping the gun a little- let’s go back to the fic.

She looks at it, a great big thorny mass, as if M.C. Escher had knitted a scarf out of barbed wire. Then, without her even blinking, the thing bends, changing without changing, the duck’s head into a rabbit’s, and she sees a great spider’s web, or perhaps anemone, a thing of tendrils and gravity-defying lines. 

The ‘thorny mass’ is inspired by a certain alien structure in the book Blindsight by Peter Watts. I finished reading it right around when I started writing this fic and really wanted to sneak in something from it, mainly because it’s a great sci-fi horror book (as much as describing it as such is an injustice to all it is.) The “duck’s head into a rabbit’s” is a reference to the duck-rabbit illusion, which is also utilized in Blindsight. (Seriously, even referencing that book in my own work is a grave act of authorial hubris. I am not worthy!)

Then, something catches her attention, a blip on the radar of her millennia-made pattern-matching instincts, a slap of color and pattern that can’t be right, must be a trick of the light, a name in the static, Virgin Mary in the burnt toast. 

Invoking pareidolia here.

like the figurehead on the bow of a great ship

This was one of the central mental images I had going into this fic.

Humans consider the smooth eversion of a sphere, the simplest three-dimensional object, to be a form of paradox

“Smooth eversion of a sphere” means turning it inside out without breaking the rules of topology, as you might have seen explained in this perennially recommended YouTube video.

but his larboard greater forewing

Larboard is an outdated nautical term for “the left of the ship”, which was replaced by “port” due to how similar to “starboard” is sounded. Including it here is a reference to its infamous use in a certain fight in Final Fantasy XIV. I knew I wanted to use “larboard” to describe something of the Doctor’s Nyarlyness, which inspired the use of the similarly nautical “aft” earlier in the fic.

From seemingly random places across his body, purple-gold strands of what looks like stardust reach outwards, pulled taut clinging to thin air.

Inspired by, of all things, Origin Forme Giratina, as elucidated in this tumblr post.

She can’t make out his legs, the lower half of his body caught in a mirage with the posture of Schrodinger’s indecisive cat.

Of course, my headcanon for Sixie’s Nyarlathotep form is a bit more than “eldritch cat”, but I still wanted to work something feline in. The Doctor’s form seeming to be multiple things at once in a quantum sort of way was inspired by they'll turn me in your arms, lady by @lurking-latinist.

She can make out his face. It's almost the same, save for the spots that shine like jewels dotting it in two parallel lines like tear-trails beneath his eyes.

Knowing that the topmost pair of "jewels" is the Fifth Doctor's eyes, the mentioned “dozen" implies that every regeneration adds another pair, bumping the rest further down. A Time Lord on their last regeneration probably has eyes down to their collarbones!

Hold on, his arm shouldn't be bending that far. Counts the fingers on each hand- six. Wait, that’s not right.

I originally planned a bit where the Doctor held up all his fingers when checking that Peri was OK, only for her to count more than ten of them, but it didn't really work logistically (moved the Doctor checking Peri from the hallway to her room) or tonally (not the right place for humor.)

aquamarine nodules

I solemnly vow to never refer to the Fifth Doctor's eyes as "aquamarine nodules" ever again.

Hey, at least I didn’t call them "orbs"

“Um, Zee- Zed, sorry, Y, X, W, U, no, I mean V, then U, T, S, Q- is it Q?”

[...]

“Um, I was a kid playing in the backyard and a ladybug landed on my hand,” she manages to spit out, “And my mom told me about how they’re helpful because they eat other bugs.”

The Doctor sticks out an index finger, pointing up. “Follow my finger with your eyes and tell me more about ladybirds.”

“Lady- oh, right.

Emphasizing the emotional distance between two characters by highlighting their linguistic differences.

She couldn't quite make out what it was he was expecting her to say, so instead she looks a bit higher, at the strangely familiar blue… things… on his face.

Can you tell that I REALLY didn't want to call them orbs?

"I'm afraid I can't answer that, Peri," he responds, and she expects him to leave it at that but he continues, "Wanderlust is a powerful thing, not to mention its cousin, curiosity. I can only speak from my own experiences, but I find the more painful parts of the universe to spur me further onwards. Both to find the brighter spots, and to help where I can."

[...]

"In all my experience with your kind, Peri, I've found that no one is ever 'just' something. You're much, much more than that, Perpugilliam Brown."

Writing TV!Sixth Doctor is hard. Really hard. It’s hard to pull something consistent out of a character that was being actively sabotaged by the writers. So if it seems like EU!Sixth Doctor just shows up out of nowhere once we switch to Peri’s last POV section: sorry! I tried my best to communicate how unsure the Doctor is of where he takes this conversation. He’s more or less defaulting to mirroring what Peri throws at him… right when she takes a leap of faith and opens up to him. This is, more or less, supposed to be the moment in Sixie’s life where he realizes the value of not being so damn prickly all the time. He comes out of this story kind, if not quite wise to human nature yet. He’ll get there!

He pauses, and reaches up to feel his face. Back to normal. 

An idea occurred to me to imply that some remnant of the Fifth Doctor kept the eyes out in a really weird self-wingman tactic, but I don't like the implication that the past incarnations are separate consciousnesses, so I didn't go through with it

It's at that moment the Doctor realizes that Peri is, for all intents and purposes, more accepting of his being a polydimensional monstrosity with vestigial bits of his own corpses repurposed as sensory organs, than she is of his fashion sense.

“Monstrous” being the word that the Doctor mouthed earlier to complete Peri’s sentence. The biggest difference between this fic and the aforementioned Holding Tank is that the Sixth Doctor lacks the self-hatred the Doctor has regarding his Nyarlyness in that fic (and that the Fifth Doctor is implied to have in this one.) That’s TV!Six’s pride coming in to play. But as we see after Peri sees him, he’s got some frustrations with the fact that his full existence is inherently dangerous to other species. At some point during his conversation with Peri, it does occur to him that she very easily could have left the TARDIS over this, hence his final words to her before bidding her goodnight.

Closing Thoughts

Overall, my goals for this fic were: 1. Believably write the Doctor and Peri coming to an understanding after Season 22 that doesn’t just full-on retcon the shitty writing (yes, a lot of their interactions that season are just poorly written.) and 2. Write a long Dr Nyarlathotep fic that doesn’t resort to just making the Sixth Doctor an eldritch cat AND doesn’t use the word “tentacle” at any point, because that’s not what I’m about. I personally think I met both those goals, so I’m quite proud! Hopefully it produced a fun read. And thank you for reading this full-on author commentary!

[hawkepockets]

hi hi, dropping in your inbox to ask for more details on prem's relationship with dwayna? you might have shared some before but i cannot find much and i am Curious, if you'd like to talk about it :) @kerra-and-company

!!! omg of course 🫰 this is like a core issue for prem so strap in there’s a lot to say.

prem’s relationship to dwayna is the earliest iteration of a repeating pattern in his life: he gets a taste of attention, power-sharing, and passing fondness from someone higher than him (in the echelons of the city, like anise, in heroism, like the commander and vlast, or in the workings of the world, like dwayna) and devotes his whole self to them, often taking years to realize there’s no reward coming and the love is one-sided or wrong somehow.

when prem was about a year old, the zephyr airship his mothers sailed on, the ikaros, was part of a strike mission to the east of the blood legion homelands, where kralkatorrik was dormant. the zephyrites were supposed to harvest his crystallized blood for glint’s weapons, but before they could poke the sleeping dragon, the ships were strafed by a shatterer. the ikaros pulled up and evaded a direct hit from the monster, but was caught in the minor brandstorm coming off its wings. the ikaros was and is a ramshackle luxon antique. it was all the crew could do to keep the hull from shaking to pieces, long enough to power up a big sun aspect crystal and jump the ship forward out of the brandstorm. in mortal terror, the all-human crew couldn’t syncronize a song of praise for glint, and resorted to an older, simpler hymn to dwayna, using the harmonies to charge the crystal while crying out to the air goddess to keep their ship aloft.

it worked, barely. the sails were cut to ribbons by branded shrapnel, the cargo blasted clean off by the winds and the momentum of the aspect jump, and whole chunks of less-aerodynamic storage and living space were just gone when the ikaros made its “controlled” emergency ground landing, as if kralkatorrik had woken up to take bites out… including the transom storage locker where baby prem had been stashed for safekeeping. the crew was sure that their gambit with the sun aspect crystal had killed their smallest member—until prem heard his mother phaibun scream and started crying in answer from where he was safely tangled in the rigging, high above anyone’s heads. as phaibun scrambled to retrieve him, she felt a brush of warm air and presence pass by her, and felt sure dwayna had saved her son in answer to the zephyrites’ prayer.

and she was right ! prem seemed to be uniquely blessed by dwayna. his attunement to the wind aspect was instinctive, he loved to be in the air, he was obsessed with the story of malchor from the first time he heard it, and when he hurt himself and called dwayna’s name the wounds would close themselves (in game human cultural heal skill 😉)—which was unheard of this many years into the silence of the six gods.

he was four when his mothers moved with him to divinity’s reach, and growing up there he refused to walk past dwayna’s shrine in the palace garden unless he had a coin to donate. he built a tiny shrine to her at home where he could pray and make daily offerings of songs, food scraps, little kid artwork, breath from his lungs. he kept building and rebuilding that shrine every place he slept, from his screened-in sleeping corner in his mothers’ single room above their glider shop, to the shining blade headquarters, to campsites in maguuma and elona.

he had a childhood habit of conflating dwayna with glint and mixing up which prayers and melodies were written for whom, which got him in some hot water around teachers and priests, who considered reverence for glint heretical. he became very meticulous about praying “right” in front of krytan humans. just 1 of many ways he enforced assimilation on himself.

his whole life, he pulled comfort and inspiration from dwayna’s image. he identified powerfully with malchor’s love for her, using it half-consciously as a blueprint for his own blinding (wink) devotion to anise. he thought dwayna had blessed him with good luck, which made him more likely to accept without question things that others would call “too good to be true” (like anise’s offer to groom mentor him). he thought he was dwayna’s favorite!

he rarely got treatment for injuries, relying on prayers to stop the bleeding and glamours to cover the marks. but every time he invoked her name, the delay would be a little longer, the healing a little less perfect. he took this as a sign he was losing her favor, and got only more devout and more zealous as a shining blade exemplar.

then he met kormir, and she told him the gods were leaving—had been leaving, for a long time. dwayna had been gone from tyria since prem was very young. he had been one of the last humans, maybe the last human she’d ever blessed, as a goodbye.

so he’d just been imagining her closeness and favor all this time, and the small well of her power she’d left in him had been diminishing with each use ever since. soon it would dry up, and he’d have nothing left from her. she wasn’t coming back to him. she’d never been with him at all for more than a second. forget caring about one human, she’d left humanity to the dragons. the version of her in his head wasn’t real. it broke his heart.

he renounced all the gods, kicked his shrine apart, and true to his word to kas, hasn’t stepped foot in a temple ever since. he knows it seems like a spoiled reaction to other humans who never had their prayers answered in the first place, but he can’t help it. one of the presences he counted on most for almost 30 years, and it turned out to be just a trick of his mind and the wind.

he spent his last healing prayer in cantha, for a faint swell of warmth and fresh air after soo-won almost drowned him in a cold whirlpool. he felt the blessing disappear from him, without fanfare, leaving no residue. he feels totally stripped down after that. no delusions about divine guidance, no illusions about kryta, no one left to swear oaths to, nothing but his own thoughts to navigate by. truly Just Some Guy.

[dominicfrederik]

Guardian Lore II: The Tetrad of Graria, Aeronos, Teraxen, & Aquanis

Despite having food the humans were still struggling to survive the harsh elements of Chrysalis, so Zelaire created three more guardians: Aquanis to tame the seas for safer travels, Teraxen to aid in making mines and quicken the construction of cities, and Aeronos to calm the harsh winds and hasten communication between settlements.

For the two years prior to their creation, Graria was viewed as a sort of goddess among the humans—a people who had been left by their old creator and ignored by the one that took them in. With the creation of the new Guardians, though, Graria’s influence waned as the others gained their own devoted followers.

Using the Grarian Trees, the new Guardians also created his own Wardens. Zealaire hadn’t given the new Guardians the same power over souls that Graria did, which was what allowed her to create her wardens—something Zelaire disapproved of.

Teraxen and her Earthwardens helped form smooth roads, quickly connecting all the major settlements across Chrysalis. Rudimentary buildings could be raised from the ground. People often sought them for 

Aeronos calmed the winds around the major settlements, allowing the Humans to build without the destructive storms resetting their progress. He built towers in the major settlement used by the Skywardens to expedite communication between the settlements. These Skywardens had warded a powerful air current through each tower and would travel them by gliders.

Aquanis, in combination with Aeronos, increased ship speeds to allow for faster shipment of materials between settlements. Aquanis also helped in new fishing techniques to increase food supply and make building ports and dams easier. Seawardens became an invaluable member of any ship crew—being able to part the violent waves to allow for faster and safer travel.

Some worshiped them collectively as “The Tetrad,” though people often preferred one over the others—mostly depending on how much help their settlement received from each of them. However, there are those who outright refused the aid of the Guardians. Groups split off into new settlements, condemning those who strayed away from Lorthryn, their old creator. They believed Lorthryn would come back for them, and that the Wardens and their Guardians were an abomination.

Read More on the Lores of Chrysalis Masterpost

[rchobbyproducts]

Exploring the Different Types of Remote-Controlled Planes

Flying RC planes is undoubtedly a timeless hobby that excites people of all age groups. It offers a unique blend of relaxation, excitement, and an opportunity for skill development. If you are someone who wants to experience the thrill of flight without leaving the ground, it is worth investing in a remote-controlled plane. However, before you get started with your RC aviation adventure, having an idea of the different types of RC planes available is crucial. Read on to explore everything in detail!

#1 Trainers

Are you new to the hobby and want to acquire the basic skills of flying? The trainer RC planes are the perfect choice. They usually have slow speed and offer stable flight characteristics for easy handling. Moreover, they come with a high-wing design for enhanced stability and a forgiving flying experience. The trainer RC aircraft is also equipped with several beginner-friendly features like panic recovery and self-leveling modes. As a result, you can use them to build a solid foundation before you can advance toward the advanced RC planes.

#2 Warbirds

As the name suggests, the warbirds are remote-controlled planes that replicate the historical military aircraft from World War II. These planes feature the details of the original aircraft, including the marking and paint scheme. You can witness these models during various competitions and air shows. If you want to experience an authentic feel of aircraft, there is no better choice than the Warbirds.

#3 Park Flyers

When you are in search of a lightweight remote-controlled plane for flying in open spaces, the park flyers are the right option. They are usually battery-powered and ensure quiet operations during flights. As a result, they are suitable for casual flying and using them in urban surroundings.

#4 Sports Planes

Want to showcase your exceptional flying skills? Getting the sports planes is an excellent idea. They are versatile and can provide you with a unique blend of aerobatic capabilities and stable flight characteristics. So, they enable pilots to perform maneuvers and tricks in the sky with ease. These planes are designed to offer an immersive and thrilling experience to aviation enthusiasts.

#5 FPV (First Person View) Planes

This model of RC plane comes with cameras that can send back images through a viewing screen or goggles. Flying this aircraft is indeed challenging and stimulating and demands exceptional skills. However, once you acquire the skills, you are sure to enjoy a thrilling flight experience. The FPV planes find wide application in performances and competitions.

#6 Gliders

If you are looking for a remote-controlled aircraft that can fly without any power source, the glider is the apt choice. Built with lightweight materials, they are designed for extended flights. One of the significant features of this model is that they can remain in the air for long periods, making them ideal for exploring the skies.

Conclusion

The RC planes come in a variety of forms with unique features. Are you looking for the best remote-controlled plane for a thrilling flying experience? Explore the different aircraft available at EXHOBBY. From trainers to gliders, you can find all options in one place.

Blog Source: https://rchobbyproducts.blogspot.com/2024/09/exploring-different-types-of-remote.html

[lynnmkrogh]

Exploring Wings over the Rockies’ Exploration Of Flight Campus

Wings over the Rockies’ Exploration of Flight is a 15-acre campus located in Englewood, Colorado. It is part of Centennial Airport, one of the busiest locations for general aviation in the nation. The campus showcases a full range of unique aircraft from across aviation’s history and provides guided flight experiences in aircraft that range from contemporary to vintage.

A unique aspect of the campus is professional simulators that place visitors in cockpits and test their flight skills. Guests can experience 10-minute sessions on the Redbird Xwind and FlyThisSim TouchTrainer FM210. The latter 64-square-foot simulator features an immersive dual-seat cockpit with realistic pilot and co-pilot intercoms, audio simulation, and an onboard instructor’s station. Volunteer co-pilots guide the experience, familiarizing pilots with the unique characteristics of models such as Cessna 172 and 182. Visitors can rent Redbird FMX and MACH 0.1 Glider simulators by the hour; flight students use them to practice flights with active pilots or instructors.

Of the aircraft housed at Exploration of Flight, the B-1A bomber produced by Rockwell in the early 1970s serves as a highlight. Rockwell produced four B-1As as part of a test program designed to demonstrate the leading-edge aircraft of the era. It also fulfilled an Air Force mandate to combine the Convair B-58 Hustler’s supersonic speed with the Boeing B-52 Stratofortress’ long-range capabilities.

The B-1A, able to achieve Mach 2.2, experienced cost overruns while in production. Some saw it as vulnerable to Soviet defenses, so President Carter canceled the program in 1977. Built in the early 1980s, the B-1B model replaced it. Although 100 aircraft served in active service, it flew lower and slower than its predecessor. The B-1A on display is on loan from the US Air Force’s National Museum and saw service with the Air Force as a munitions loading procedures ground trainer.

The Wings over the Rockies campus also encompasses pilot ramp access spanning 77,000 square feet of flight ramp, 18 tie-downs, and a helipad. Wings arranges refueling on-site for planned aircraft. The Clay Lacy Field Of Dreams Flight Ramp provides future aviators training and flight opportunities. Named in honor of a veteran aviator who has logged 55,000 hours (possibly the most in-flight history) as a pilot, it expanded to 77,000 square feet in 2019. Lacy’s diverse experience spans racing, military, test flights, and business and commercial routes worldwide.

Among the popular annual offerings of Exploration of Flight is Aspiring Aviators summer camp, which invites children to preflight an aircraft, pilot it, and design a flight across the country, employing flight simulators. The AeroTech summer camp focuses on another distinct aviation pathway and involves projects centered on rivet plane construction, paper airplane launch system design, and electrical circuits.

On the first Saturday of each month, aviators from across the state fly in, and visitors can observe contemporary and vintage aircraft landings. Pilots taking part in the Breakfast Fly-In receive complimentary breakfast. At the same time, guests partake of local food truck fare and hear presentations by featured speakers on various aviation topics, which adds to the experience.

[cksjptblog]

On Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind and environmentalism

Nausicaa of the valley of the wind tells the story of a humanity post societal collapse 1000 years in the future where a toxic jungle spreads to consume the world. It follows Nausicaa a young woman who is the princess of the titular valley of the wind

The movie starts on a bleak scene, a poisonous jungle where just about everything in it wants to kill you and Nausicaa inside the shell of what was clearly a giant robot built for war alongside several other robots, a long since past warzone.

This contrasts heavily with the peaceful scene of the valley itself, looking like a modern day peaceful forest and valley.

There is a incongruent sadness in the scene though, a mishmash of technology and buildings, from mud buildings to medieval style buildings, chests and shields but also firearms and gliders. The kind of society only possibly born from a collapse of a prior society scavenging different parts and pieces of what was before and having to re-build the rest.

The story is inherently about the environment and war and climate change. We destroyed the world with war and the world fights back against humanity now, the jungle being toxic could be a stand in for a number of different things, repentance for war and climate change being a few. The repentance for war representing a dying society drowned by war, climate change being a more realized version of how our constant pumping of chemicals into the air poisons the land and will make it toxic for us, the forest growing representing our continuing environmental failure and pumping more chemicals into the air polluting more and more of the planet.

It is later revealed that Nausicaa planted some of the most toxic plants from the jungle using deep soil and clean water and found out that they don’t become poisonous when this happens, proving that the jungle itself isn’t toxic merely that the entire land is polluted and the jungle uproots that pollution.

The secondary conflict of the anime shows itself when a foreign kingdom invades the valley kills the king and takes Nausicaa hostage with their intent being to revive one of the giant robots and burn the toxic forest to the ground. The hostage taking is interrupted however by another foreign kingdom intervening to take down the ships which results in Nausicaa landing in the forest and learning of its true nature, the forest was natures way of cleansing the planet and the insects protectors of the forest so human’s won’t interrupt its work.

The movie’s conflict is only resolved by Nausicaa risking her life to protect one of the baby Ohm, the protectors of the forest. And in turn is healed by them. It tells a powerful tale of caring for nature and how doing so ensures nature will care for you.

Overall I really really enjoyed the movie, it was beautiful and touching at times as well as sending a powerful message about caring for the environment.

[spark-edu]

The brothers who taught humans to fly

INTRODUCTION

    THE Wright brothers Orville ( 19th August 1871 - 30th January 1948) and Wilbur (16th April 1867 - 30th May 1912), were two Americans who are credited with building the world's first successful airplane and making the first controlled, powered and sustained heavier than air human flight on 17th December 1903. the first fixed-wing aircraft, a kite mounted on a stick, was conceived and flown almost a century before Orville and Wilbur made their first flight. The Wrights were the first to design and build a flying craft that could be controlled while in the air. every successful aircraft ever built since, beginning with the 1903 Wright Glider, has had control to roll wings right or left, pitch the nose up or down, and yaw the nose from side to side. these three-roll, pitch, and yaw, let a pilot navigate an airplane in all three dimensions. making it possible to fly. the entire aerospace business, one of the largest industries in the world, depends on this simple idea. so do spacecraft, submarines, and even robots. Wilber and Orville gained the mechanical skills essential for their success by working for years in their shop with printing presses, bicycles, motors, and other machinery. the work with bicycles in particular influenced their belief that an unstable vehicle like a flying machine could be controlled and balanced with practice. Wilbur and Orville were visionaries and tireless inventors. undaunted by numerous failures and crashes, they pursued their goal of being powered, controlled, and piloted, and ultimately changed the world forever.

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