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7.8.24

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FFxivWrite24 Entry #21: Shade

He'd always been partial to the dark. Even when he spent his youth studying the light, he oft found himself drawn to it. There were secrets hidden there. Amongst the many dangers lurking, there were great treasures to be had, found, and used for the betterment of others.

He'd always believed it was a trait he picked up from his parents. After all, they spent many of their years studying diseases and dark magic in order to better heal their patients. They'd often told Melfice that one must study the cause in order to better understand the effect. And so the Vainchelon estate was filled to the brim of ancient texts, taboo and otherwise, to help the family better understand the curses, spells, and diseases that often plagued citizens and soldiers alike.

The truth was, however, that he was always excited to open those forbidden tomes. When his parents fell to the very disease they were studying, he used it as an excuse to dig deep and try to find any possible way to cure them. They succumbed before he made any progress. When his fiancé grew ill with the same disease, he saw it as a chance to redeem himself. Again, he failed.

While he would not openly admit it, Melfice still blames himself for their passing to this day. Stricken and mad with grief, the young scholar sequestered himself in his home looking to that very same darkness for salvation. He was secretly ashamed at how eager he was to open the most forbidden of tomes. To study the most forbidden of spells. To find ways to reanimate corpses. Capture aether. Suspend the body of his loved one so that he could have more time.

But all of his efforts bore little fruit. Try as he might, he could not bring back those he loved. The conclusion this led him to was obvious; he must go deeper. Delve into the Void itself for answers and take all that it had to offer. It was necessary to save them. Or.. perhaps that was what he told himself. An excuse to do that which he'd secretly longed for.

And so he did. That portal opened, and while it almost cost him his own life, the Void spit out the greatest treasure it had to offer. She was not specifically what he was looking for. No, she was as mad as he. As desperate and untrusting as he. As cold and vicious as he. It was as if the Void--no, the world had made them for one another.

And while the two hated one another at first, she for how he enslaved her and he for how she was not the mentor he had sought, over time the two grew to understand one another. Sure, she was not what he'd searched for, but he could study her. Use her to learn. Take the gift of her strength bonded to him and use it to perform miracles he'd previously considered impossible. And in return he gave her a home. Obedience. Love, the one thing she truly wanted but would never admit; not even to him.

Over time both of their goals shifted and became one. And, as he was always destined to do so, Melfice fell very deep into that darkness. Even when his own experiments left him tainted and cursed, she stood by his side. Loved him. Taught him how to live amongst the others in plain sight. More importantly, she taught him how some curses can be gifts.

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FFxivWrite24 Entry #21: Shade

FFxivWrite2024 Prompt #21: Shade

Darkness. Darkness and hunger.

It was all she had known for so long that she had lost track of how long she had been trapped within the Void. Time had no meaning and no measure. Devour or be devoured was the only immutable law of the Thirteenth. Death was a fate she could accept–embrace, even–but to live on as a fragment trapped in another’s body as a conglomeration of forgotten souls was not. So the succubus disposed of the few Voidsent foolish enough to challenge her without prejudice, devouring their lives and growing more powerful with each one. So what if she lost a bit more of herself each time? What did it matter? Was that really such a bad thing? What use was sanity here? What good in being herself? At least it was a brief, hollow relief from the hunger. But the darkness, there was no relief from that. Not until, without warning, that fateful day came. Light, blinding and brilliant, burning and insufferable after so long in the pitch, a portal tearing itself through the blackness. Something unignorable called to her from beyond, beckoned and invited her to come through, tugged at her body and soul. Or maybe it was just the ravenous hunger within her, drawn to that world shining with aether on the other side, so instinctual it moved her body without her own volition. She couldn’t be certain. There was very little she could be certain of anymore. The only thing she did know–had decided–was that the portal was for her. Other creatures were drawn to the light like moths to a flame, starving and desperate, clambering for escape from their eternal Hell. But she fought them tooth and nail, and as always in the Void, the superior demon triumphed. She clawed her way out over their bodies, through the rift and into a dizzying, overstimulating world of light and life and sustenance. Where or when she was didn’t matter. No such thoughts occurred to her now. She only had one drive, one urge: Feed. Whoever had been foolish enough to open the Voidgate stood before her, brimming with aether like a beacon in the night. She pounced on him without hesitation and she was intent on making sure there would be no fighting back, her vicious claws swiping toward his face, rending flesh and leaving his visage a bloodied mess. The mage crumpled to the floor with her atop him, straddling him and siphoning the very lifeforce from his body to sate herself. So lost was she in the hedonistic decadence of a proper meal of aether at last, she was not prepared for what came next. But the mage, he had been prepared for her. He had managed to recover from his mauling just in time to spring his trap before his fate was sealed. She was so focused in her single-minded, feral pursuit of her prey that she had failed to notice the arcane circle and sigils carved into the floor beneath her. He triggered his spell, incorporeal bonds of aether winding around her limbs and ripping her off him, holding her in place. She struggled, thrashing and baring her sharp teeth like a wild animal, but she could not break free, and he wasn’t going to wait long enough to afford her the chance. He pushed himself to his feet, the lifeblood seeping from his face dripping to the floor and pooling into the ritual circle etched there, triggering the spell. The runes glowed to life with aether, and she instantly knew what was happening, but it was too late. The Voidsent was bound to her new master, their aether and destinies irrevocably interwoven. “You…” he began, voice dark and deep, one hand pressing to his wounds and covering half his face. “What is your name?” he commanded, and she was powerless to disobey.

@shadiyah-ffxiv @of-darkness-and-dreams

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Ronnie's bonded with Loretta about their shared love of decoupage, and she's about to ask about the mystery arm.

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Art by Essi Välimäki

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✞ 666 ✞

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I scanned in my moon painting from yesterday, and I'm really pleased with how it turned out. I love her shapes, the cracked textures, and the hues—it brings me so much joy! I've realized traditional work truly makes me happiest because the medium has a will of its own.

This motif would make a great shirt design too. :>

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I have no words.

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Just spit it out already

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