#a pyre for crows

[antivan-sprig]

I thought this might be a fun way to interact with other Rooks for Lis 🫶🏻 🔥

I love the tinder profiles going around, but much like the kiss prompts, I haven’t been able to interact much since Lisel doesn’t like kissing or much physical contact (unless you’re very close to her or have already seen her inevitable “I’m overwhelmed” cry aka every Davrin fic I’ve ever written.)

I don’t think I've talked about it- but since her role as a hearth keeper is ceremonial, I totally HC that Liselath knows how to do fun (sometimes deep) magical games with fire. I think there was a time when she fully believed in the possibility of prophecy of these little rituals, but now mostly treats them as something to do at parties to facilitate a conversation. In certain ways, she thinks this preserves some small part of their sanctity, since it’s bridging a connection.

Anyway! Lisel is doing some readings so if you want me to write one for your Rook just comment: what your rook does with the fire (explained in the intro below) and anything else (fun facts/memories/ past interactions/random thoughts they’re having) you want. You can write a full on rp-y response or just explain in 3rd person- whatever is more fun for you.

No promises on the accuracy of her responses though 😉

✨ Me setting the scene 4 you ✨

Much to Rook’s surprise, the courtyard balcony was illuminated by the glowing of a fire. The light arched across the wall of the building, with a familiar crackle. Against the complete darkness of the sky each light and shadow accentuated the texture of the stone, exposing every imperfection. It was odd to see the divots and peaks laid so bare, you’d never have noticed them in the daylight.

Rook approached the fire. The warmth it put out was palpable, and the way the heat absorbed into the stone wall was divine. Rook laid their head upon the stone for a moment, enjoying the warmth and feeling like a cat laying in the sun.

“Ah, good. You’re not late.” An even voice came from beyond the fire.

Rook startled, the figure sat directly behind the fire, her back pressed up to the statue of Mythal. The brilliant flames of the fire obscured her until you forced your eyes to see past them.

“Sit down. This will be fast.” She added, “Promise.”

Rook got the impression she was assuring herself just as much as she was assuring them. They pulled their head up from the wall and slowly walked towards Lisel, the note she’d slipped under their door still in their pocket.

“So- can I divine for you?” She said inauspiciously, and motioned her hand towards Rook, “with the fire.”

Rook stared at her briefly, wondering if she started every reading like this, then pressed her for more information.

Liselath squinted in concentration, “I can read any part of it. The flame, the smoke, the ash. Anything.” She thought for a moment, “Throw something in and watch how the flame reacts. Extinguish it, and I’ll read the ashes.”

A hint of mischief punctuated her face, “You can even put your hand in if you’re stupid enough.”

[blue-unifox]

I want to draw animals so... Which member of the pyre cast (except those who are non-humanoid) would fit which animal ? 🤔

Or, rather, which animal could represent which character? I'd like to hear some thoughts!

[kanawolf]

@cursed-candlehop omg my inbox was closed, it's on now and thank you for this!! I have made more Rooks since you initially asked which is why this took me so long to answer

cursed-candlehop - I'm pretty sure your asks are off, actually, but how 'bout #1 and #23?

How exactly did they get their nickname, and what do they think about it?

Pyre - being the weird crypt baby that they were, Pyre didn't have a lot of interactions with people outside the Mourn Watch until the War of Banners ended. As they were going out and exploring other regions in Thedas, they happened to get really good at cheating with dice (which they didn't necessarily like doing but did need money so), and when they played against Varric, he called it rooking, which led to them getting the nickname. Pyre likes the chess association much more than the cheating one

Luka - head empty, dumbass boy, Luka once asked Teia about chess after having seen a really nice one that a merchant was selling for a pretty penny. He didnt understand it at all (and still doesn't, not really), but he did enjoy the design of the pieces. Unintentionally, he mentioned that he liked one the best because it reminded him of the Casino, mixed with an actual crowd nest, and the piece he picked was that of the Rook. He actually got the nickname a little bit before meeting Varric as a result.

Deirdre - Got the nickname from their adopted mother, a woman who did in fact love chess, and saw Deirdre's promise in the military before their adopted father did. She was the woman who encouraged their father to train them, and in doing so compared Deirdre to the rook piece, saying that they would do great things by following the rules - something that is really only half true nowadays.

Beauregard - made 1 too many jokes about the Crowd needing more rookeries and immediately got told "I'll make you a rookery if you don't stop" by one of their fellow Crows. The nickname Rook stuck after that (much to Viago's minor despair).

A place in Thedas they haven't seen yet, but would like to?

Pyre - not any specific place, but after the rescue mission at the Ossuary, they want to see if they can explore underwater more. Specifically, they want to see if there are wisps underwater and what necromancy underwater looks like, plus, they just really like the ocean - it reminds them of the Grand Necropolis in a way

Luka - given that the Crows don't take too many contracts in Ferelden anymore, he wants to go see Ferelden. They'd also like to go see Orlais because in his mind it just sounds like a fun trip.

Deirdre - Really wants to see the Free Marches, even given the current world ending situation, they just think the Free Marches would be a very interesting place to explore, especially considering the Inquisitions position there.

Beauregard - Estwatch. They love the water already and the Ossuary did not diminish that love, if anything, it made them want to see more of the islands in Thedas and spend more time in / around the water.

[cloudbattrolls]

Karina really is much better off being in charge of Jikiro's company, tbh, it makes her happier than OLSC ever did.

0% approval rating from all my characters who were involved with it, really. Just ask Gliese and Tuuya, and though she worked for QPIN at the time Ullane was no fan of theirs either after what happened on Nott.

[aria-bun]

Ive been thinking of a reverse crows au where its still angsty.

Kaz, who needs touch because the last stage of Firepox is numbness so he needs the feeling of human touch as a reminder that he is, in fact, still alive.

Inej, who is purposefully loud because she got taken due to how quiet she was and nobody noticed her absence until it was too late.

Jesper, who openly uses his grisha powers because as he gets older, he starts to forget more and more about his mother, and this is the last permanent tie he has to her.

Wylan, who is more upfront about his Dyslexia to remind himself that, if he didn't have it, he might have turned out just like his father, and he fears that more than any judgement he may recieve.

Matthias, who always admired grisha but couldn't say anything about it for fear of someone getting the wrong idea and him being the next body on the pyre

Nina, who hates the power she holds because of how much damage it does, and wishes that she had been taught to heal instead of taught to hurt.

@lilisouless @barrel-crow-n @randomfandom-3 @i-eat-so-much-grass

[kabsey]

Why am I suddenly obsessed with the idea of a forgiven Illario being gravely wounded in the last battle?

Like he stumbles his way back to where the Crows have gathered, covered in blood and grime and gore, and he wants to cry with relief when Teia rushes to his side. She has to hold up almost all of his weight as she leads him to one of the few empty cots left in their field hospital. And then she leaves him and he wants to cry again, near delirious with pain and blood loss and an all-consuming dread that his end is waiting, just out of sight, to swallow him whole.

The minutes trickle by, and as he lies there, surrounded by the moans of the other dying and gasping for breath that can barely squeeze through the agony, he starts to think that maybe this was how it was always meant to happen. That maybe he was destined to die alone and unmourned, just another body on a mass pyre. When he begins to fade in and out of consciousness, he's grateful because he's no longer aware of every second counting down until his last.

In one brief flicker, he hears voices above him, muffled and far away as if he's underwater.

"—wasn't like this when I left him, I swear, Lucanis."

"Get a healer. Now."

-------

In the next, he's fairly sure he's still dreaming because he's wrapped in a blanket and curled in a wheelbarrow of all things being pushed by a qunari of all people.

-------

When he wakes again, he barely notices because the room he's in is so dark. He's lying on a soft bed, and a black silhouette watches him from the shadows just outside the circle of banked firelight.

"Lucanis?" he croaks. Every inch of his skin feels soaked through with cold sweat, but his throat is so, so dry.

The silhouette leans forward to reveal a pointed beard and a pointed gaze that had always seemed to accuse him, even before he had committed any of his crimes.

Illario sighs, too tired now to feel the panic of before. "Here to... finish me off?"

He's already drifting when Viago answers.

"If I were here to kill you, you wouldn't have woken up."

-------

The next time he opens his eyes, pale grey light fills the room, filtered through gauzy curtains. Both he and the world feel more solid. He's not in his own suite in the villa but a smaller room in the guest wing. And the man sitting at his bedside is, as ever, the person he most and least wants to see in the world.

"You're going to live," Lucanis states, and his voice and his expression hold no clue as to how he feels about that.

A huff of wry laughter escapes Illario. "My apologies."

That prompts the tiniest of furrows in his cousin's brow. "Why were you there? No one expected you." The furrow deepens. "Were you even fighting for our side?"

The jibe should sting, but Illario feels as if all of the aches and weariness from every moment of his life have settled deep into his bones. "I killed Venatori. Even a few darkspawn."

"So you betrayed your allies again?" Lucanis sighs. His exhaustion is clear in the slump of his shoulders and the circles beneath his eyes.

"The Venatori were never my allies."

Lucanis straightens at that, showing a little of the fire that Illario had always wished he would. "You were going to let them into Trevsio."

"I wasn't going to let them stay. After they pushed out the Antaam and protected us from the gods, we could have gotten rid of them."

"And the blood magic?" Lucanis accused.

"I needed to be able to defend myself."

"From me?" his cousin demanded, a spark of violet flickering in his eyes. "Or your Venatori lover?"

Illario lets his eyes fall closed. "She was just a tool. They were all just tools."

"That's all you see, isn't it? You look at the world, and instead of people, you see only tools to be used."

"Of course," Illario agrees. He opens his eyes and almost laughs to see the look of surprise on Lucanis's face. "Just as we were taught, no? Even we were only tools to Caterina."

He settles deeper into the pillows, the pull of sleep tugging his eyelids down again. "But maybe being the favorite tool was almost like being human."

For a few long moments, only the crackling in the fireplace answers him. He expects to hear the creak of the chair and Lucanis's fading footsteps at any moment.

Instead he hears a quiet murmur. "It wasn't."

The low tone is a hook in Illario's heart. Even decades later, he can hear the echoes of shared secrets in the nights after hard days, when he would sneak into Lucanis's room and curl up on his floor so they could commiserate in their mutual misery. He struggles to breathe around the tears that prick his eyelids and tighten his throat, the effort just as wrenching as trying to breathe through the pain of his wound.

And he thinks then that he has not learned his lesson, that maybe he will never learn his lesson. Because if some power alighted in that room and promised to send him back to those years, even if it meant that Thedas would suffer blight and war and demons and elvhen gods all over again with no guarantee of a repeated victory...

He wouldn't hesitate for a moment.

[she-posts-nerdy-stuff]

One of my favourite little details in Six of Crows is that throughout the book we have this growing tension and build-up surrounding just how the Drüskelle execute Grisha and we never get a straight answer, not even when Nina directly asks Matthias if not a pyre then what and gives examples (including firing squad and gallows) and Matthias deflects the answer. At the time we think little of it because of the heat of the moment and the high tensions surrounding the argument, plus we’re still fresh from the pyre scene, but ultimately Matthias never actually answers this question because he does not know the answer.

And he does not know, as we learn in chapter 35 straight from Jarl Brum’s own mouth, because they don’t, at least in the typical sense of the word, actually execute the Grisha; for the past fifteen years they’ve been torturing and experimenting on the Grisha prisoners found guilty during the trials.

Anyway I’m tired so I’m not gonna let this post get too much longer but the point is that I think the fact Matthias doesn’t even know the answer to this question is one of the many things that keep him questioning the manipulation he was put through early on in the book and I think that to a certain degree the solidification of every tiny doubt he had in chapter 35 told him not that he was going to turn on Brum, because he already knew he would do that for Nina, but that he was making the right choice for himself by doing it too

[thesummerstorms]

You know that conversation you can have with Emmrich where he asks what your plans are for your body when you die?

I think Arsinoë accidentally horrified him. Not by clinging to non-Nevarran ideals about cremation, but by telling him she never thought anyone would care that much one way or the other.

She would be dead, so she wouldn't care. And honestly, a majority of compradi die as Fledglings without graduating; she thinks their bodies were probably burned (since you have to do something with bodies) but they certainly don't have funerals, so it certainly wasn't worth worrying about then.

Emmrich interjects, trying to wrangle his own shock long enough to point out that she's not a Fledgling now, so surely...?

Well if she dies now, Arsinoë all but shrugs, it would depend on the circumstances, wouldn't it? She isn't someone important like a Talon or the scion of an established Crow family. She certainly isn't Caterina Dellamorte, who warrants something verging on a State Funeral.

If she died, there is still a non-zero chance it would be at another Crow's hands, in which case it's anyone's guess what happens after.

If she dies honorably fulfilling a contract, then Viago might feel obligated to do something if he isn't pissed off at her failure and she's isn't still in Exile. He's her mentor, so probably he would manage at least a small pyre. Maybe even a flower or two for the flames if he's letting himself feel sentimental. Teia would probably be there because Viago was.

But just as often, when a contract goes wrong, there's no time to go back for the body. The mark get ahold of it, or whoever's left on the contract has to focus on survival rather than the dignity of a corpse that can't feel any of it.

But really, none of that would matter to Arsinoë, would it? She'd be off wherever dead souls end up going, or maybe in oblivion, who knows. She doesn't have any family to be horrified by her corpse unless you count Viago, who is Fifth Talon, has bigger things to worry about, and will get over it.

But anyway, why do you ask, Emmrich?

Emmrich is too aghast to answer clearly at that point because every single point of Arsinoë's answer goes so deeply against everything that is ingrained in him as part of the Mourn Watch, from the belief that a corpse just doesn't matter to her sincere belief that no one would care enough about her for any particular mourning rights.

And the thing is Emmrich does care. It's his professional duty to care, but he's also become fond of his young friend and he cannot handle imagining that she could die on this mission or the next and potentially receive no rites at all.

Cue Emmrich starting to plan how he's going to have Rook interred in the Grand Necropolis when the time comes. It may involve some string pulling, especially if (hopefully) she dies not on this mission but in the distant future, and even more so if he precedes her and has to leave the job in one of his colleague's hands. But Maker help him, there will be a plan and her death will be respected.

When it comes to light, Neve is uncertain and a little weirded out, but also a little offended by all this. She's fallen in love with Rook, but even before that, the respect between them would have warranted a pyre and Arsinoë's name on the Wall of Light if there was no one else to arrange things. Is this why she's never asked about what happened after Varric-

Lucanis is horrified by the idea of Arsinoë as one of the spirit-possessed skeletons in the Necropolis or one of the jewel-eyed skulls in its many niches; he snaps at Emmrich about Nevarran obsession and respecting Rook as Antivan.

Emmrich refuses to budge. She expected the Crows to do nothing for her. She deserves better, deserves to be remembered, even if she isn't Nevarran.

Lucanis seems fully stunned by the idea that Rook believed this in the first place, given Viago's attachment. Given Lucanis's own growing feelings. Emmrich does soften a little bit when he sees that Lucanis truly didn't realize, but he also doesn't fully divert his plans.

Gathering a grave-dowry is normally left to a lover or family member if the deceased was themselves unable, and Emmrich is neither. But needs must, and though his friend now seems attached to Neve and Lucanis, hearts can be fickle. A plan is better. So he puts away small things here or there, eyes which of Rook's enchanted rings and amulets she seems to favor just in case.

It almost helps him live with the knowledge that Arsinoë believed she would die unmourned. Almost.

[bonesofapoet]

ruination [ lucanis dellamorte x rook ] author's note: i am sleepy and threw this together, but I wanted to share lucanis reacting Badly to rook being reckless in battle so! yeehaw kids let's goooo word count: 839

Everything disintegrated upon your return to camp. 

The copse of trees sheltering the clearing sighed with your weary bones, welcoming you back to this makeshift home after a mission gone so magnificently, catastrophically sideways. Your tent beckoned you into it's sweet embrace, in which you were seconds away from answering it's call - yet a body grazed past, a mere breath away from clipping your shoulder.

A tightness began to slip around your ribcage, burrowing deep and harsh and stubborn into your unsuspecting heart.

Lucanis veered off towards his tent, soundless in voice, yet lacking stealth in his execution. Twigs snapped under boots, metal twanged as gear unclipped and fell to the ground. 

It was obvious how he felt by the way his brows fell together, eyes narrowed so their corners crinkled. Arms were crossed over leather armor upon your approach, half discarded with a grip tight enough to bunch up fabric exposed and straps hanging loose. Angry, would be an understatement, you decide. Livid, however, seemed to be a more accurate description.

"You could have - you almost died."

He sees the rise and fall of your chest as your breath deepens. The audible sigh of an exhale being the prelude to something he knows is going to rile him even more, knowing you. And he does - know you, that is - more than he'd like to dwell on. He knows you and that, apparently, seems to be the trouble.

"Yes," you nod once. Hold yourself a step back, giving him his space. "But I had an opening, and you were busy, if you recall-"

"I was there, yes -"

"I'm sorry." The harshness of his tone was enough  prompting for the words to come spilling through your lips. They still tasted faintly of blood and sweat and magic. You wished he would come near and kiss it away.

Your words sounded scratchy, rough almost. Sincere, for sure. Lucanis wishes he could reach for you and -

"You're sorry."

"I -" you hesitate, unsure how to navigate what you may have just broken. It's new, this version of your Crow. You haven't met him yet, not directly, and now balking in the face of such an occurrence seemed like the thing to do, when caught so off guard.

Truth be told, you hadn't been expecting a confrontation. At least not one so. . .personal.

"I reacted," you mend. "And I suppose in hindsight, I see how it - how I miscalculated. Obviously." the hand not wrapped in bandages raises, gestures to the remnants of the fight marring your skin. It all aches, but you're not going to let him see that. 

Lucanis stares, and stares, and stares. The grip on his elbows lessen, and he shakes his head, stepping back to create more distance. He sees you watching him, eyes wide and clouding with something like hurt, when he backs away from you.

His response is quick, sudden in the way he tears off his gloves and finishes unlatching the buckles of his leathers. They don't fall to the ground so much as they are aggressively dropped, a pile of bloody gear laying at his feet. He needs to take a minute. To breathe, to think, anything - because he's not sure he can hone this kind of anger into anything useful at this very moment. Except -

Except.

You catch the way Lucanis hides the tremors of his hands by busying them with his blades. The way his response time is longer when he removes the bandolier across his chest. How they shake when reaching down to unearth hidden knives in boots and daggers secured in hidden sheaths. He says nothing, yet doesn't turn you away, doesn't walk away, either.

Because Lucanis had come face to face with a possibility he had not allowed himself to foresee. You could have died, and he would be here, in camp, mourning over your pyre instead of hiding how impossibly, magnificently, gut-wrenchingly unprepared he is to lead a life void of - well, you.

A few paces away, your boot toes the ground. You can't look at him either, right now.

"Right. Well. I'll leave you to it then."

Lucanis stops. Slips his gaze to where you stand, a picture of valiant failure to appear nonchalant. He sees the regret tainting your expression, coloring your vibrant heart into melancholy shades of mountain greys. The way you hold yourself back from anything remotely resembling yourself in the wake of a mistake, yes, but - don't you care you almost died?

The blades in his hands fall to the ground, their CLANK clattering loud in the mutual silence. The way your eyes shine as you turn and walk away - 

He lets you go, this time, a hand ripping through hair, an exhale tearing up his lungs. He knows he's hurt you, but until he calms the hell down - it's something he can live with, even if it reopens wounds he thought he'd burned shut.

This dance is tearing both of you into a million pieces, because neither of you will take the goddamn lead.

[jonquilyst]

Day 29 - Elimination Ceremony

Good evening, friends! Tonight's elimination ceremony is a little special. Why? Because this elimination is the final time the immunity idol can be used. Contestants, the possessor of the immunity idol is still in the game, and should the idol not be needed tonight, the identity of the contestant who has carried it since all the way back on Day 6 will be revealed.

Either way, this contestant will no longer be protected from the immunity idol from today forwards, since is the final time the immunity idol will be valid. So rest assured they won't have immunity into the finale!

So, let's find out who that idol-holder was, and of course, who's going home tonight!

The following contestants are safe:

Avery, Elio, and Estrello (immune)

Matteo and Nite have unfortunately received the most votes out of everyone. The result is under the cut:

The contestant with the most votes was Nite! However...

Nite is the possessor of the immunity idol, so she will be using it (conveniently) on the final elimination it can be used! Is that destiny or what? Nite is therefore safe from elimination and the contestant with the second-most votes will be eliminated instead.

Which means that the contestant eliminated from Total Drama Sims is...

MATTEO PERALTA

Challenge winner Estrello has chosen Elio to accompany him to first class!

Today's Confessional: Matteo Peralta

"Well, I guess that's it for me. I'm not mad or anything, just a little shook since I wasn't expecting the immunity idol to be the reason I'm leaving, but oh well. I wasn't expecting to make it this far in the first place anyway, and my butt is sore from the challenge today, so I guess I need to rest up too... again..."

"The host has been saying that I'm a fan favorite, so she recommended that I do one final confessional before I leave the plane. So, um... If you've been watching me, thanks. I appreciate it. I had a lot of fun on here, more than I was expecting, to be honest. I met a lot of cool people on here. Especially Elio. I've got a lot to hand to them. I was kinda shy at first, but they helped me feel more comfortable talking to the others. They're the main reason this game was fun for me, and probably why I wasn't eliminated sooner."

"Obviously I'm gonna root for Elio. I think they should win. They're popular and have been awesome to everyone. I'm happy they were awesome to me too. I hope to come back to some of the places I visited with my band, so I guess stay tuned if you're from the places TDS has visited."

@matchalovertrait @paracosmic-sims @kissalopa @hellogreta @invisiblequeen

[antivan-sprig]

🔥Pyre Side Master List🔥

Figured I’d like to have a complete list for these since I don’t trust my own tagging system and because I really enjoyed doing these. Thank you again to all the folks who let me read their Rooks! I feel like I have an encyclopedic record for each of them now! And uh… sorry if Lisel brought up their worst memories ever and then dipped 😉

Scene Setter Post

⬆️ For anyone who wants to request a reading ⬆️

Ezra @lunammoon

Jerran @teamtakagi

Kalias @viagosbrother

Zephyr @larknnightingale

Kalais @elfmaid

Nheil @so--whoonos

Reto @tiravi

Alana @therivercrow

Shirevas @alliminoobers

Alecto @alystrin03

Xander @ezriell

Aria @bubblecat-co

Lin @wardentabriis

Sabine @seaglassmelody

Anselm @vishantikaffar

Cara @pixiedurango

Isabella @kissmythedas

Heloise @a-mumbling-nerd

Rook/Vincent @officialnostradamus

Jin & Beck @wickedadaar

Tamrian @randomness-in-motion

Ambrose @knowlsey

~ Wish I had come up with cool names for these- I may retroactively add some ~

[selunesdreams]

Eating Crow, Chapter 29: The (After) Life of the Party

Pairing: Lucanis x Rook

Summary: Rook sees a different side of Illario. Lucanis helps Rook see a different side of intimacy.

Things of note/warnings: 18+ fic, MDNI! chapter specific warnings in AO3 notes.

─── ⊹⊱♤⊰⊹ ───

“Sit down.”

Illario thrust Rook towards the bed in one of the casino’s dimly lit guest rooms, her knees buckling as their backs hit the worn mattress. With a frustrated growl, she pushed herself up, only to be shoved down again. After two more tries, she remained seated, glaring at him as fury simmered in her gaze. He returned the look and folded his arms over his chest.

“Please.” She smoothed the anger coating her voice into something more desperate, her eyes pleading. “You brought me the man you believed responsible for my father’s death all those years ago. You knew how much I needed revenge, more than anyone. But you gave me the wrong man. And now the one truly responsible is within reach and you’d deny me retribution? He’s a threat to the Crows, to everyone we care for-”

“You are in no state to confront anyone, Fiammetta. You’re too emotional, you’ve had far too much to drink-”

“Since when did you become rational?” She sneered, wrapping her fingers around the carved ridges of the bedpost, and pulling herself to her feet. The tips of her fingernails dug through the wood’s finish as she carefully slid one foot forward, her heel scraping across the marbled floor with a screech. Her attempt to move with seductive grace was spoiled by the four glasses of champagne that swam in her blood, nagging at her joints and blurring the corns of her vision. Her former friend remained impassive, one eyebrow raised in skeptical amusement.

“Since you decided you have a death wish, apparently.”

“I’m as good as dead anyway, Illario. Not all of us will survive the gods.”

“You doubt yourself so much, and yet you fight anyway?”

“I trust my team. And I know I can make the sacrifices necessary-”

“So what? You’ve assembled an escort to your own suicide? Is that what this is, Fiammetta? All of this because you just can’t endure any longer?” He scoffed and let his hands fall at his sides, hitting his thighs with a dull slap. “And what of my cousin? You’ve let him believe he’ll have you in the end just so you can yank the rug out from under him?”

“You saw what happened when Cortez took him. I am a distraction. I nearly cost him-”

“And what will it cost him once he’s lost you? Grief is just as much a distraction as love. You should know, Fiammetta, you’ve thought of little else in your entire miserable life!”

“As if you don’t wallow in self pity yourself!”

“Spare me, Fi. It’s not the same. I don’t dwell on the past. But you… you live there.”

Rook opened her mouth, desperately searching for words to shout back. Verbal weapons to silence him, to shake him to his core, but she came up empty.

“He’s never loved anyone, Fiammetta,” Illario pleaded, “Not like you. Don’t do this to him.”

“As if you care-”

“Of course I care!” He charged forward and seized her shoulders, his face an inch from hers as his fingertips bruised her bare skin. “I thought I was doing him a favor. Zara twisted my mind until I truly felt only death could spare him from the fate of becoming First Talon. I was wrong, and it cost me my family. And Lucanis… it cost him everything . He will be an abomination for the rest of his life because I believed Zara’s lies. I betrayed him, my own blood.”

Illario began to tremble, and his grip loosened as his eyes fell to the floor. Shame was etched over every crease in his face, the hollow, dark rings under his eyes.

“Don’t make him suffer like that again,” he whispered, “Don’t lead my cousin on, only to throw yourself on the pyre and make him watch you burn. Spare Lucanis that fate, I beg you. Because I cannot take back the damage I have already done. He has somehow learned to trust despite my failure, but if you betray that trust… no one comes back from that.”

Rook blinked rapidly, her breath hitching as her eyes shimmered and burned. “Why tell me this?”

“I think you may be the only person left in Treviso who would believe me capable of remorse.” Illario released her and angled his head towards the window, unable to bear the weight of her gaze.

“For once in your life, Fiammetta, just do what Viago asks of you and be patient. Ivenci will fall, but politics never move quickly.” A bitter huff of air escaped Illario’s nose, and he shook his head, staring at one hand as he rubbed his thumb and forefinger together. “Rich, coming from me, I know.”

Rook narrowed her eyes. “Am I to believe you’re done scheming your way into power? That blood magic won’t corrupt you the way it has every other mage that has dared to touch it? If we survive, what happens to you when this is all over?”

Illario turned and yanked the door open, stepping into the hall.

“You forget, Fiammetta, I am not a mage.” He said over his shoulder. “As for your second question… I don’t know. I hear Dairsmuid is nice this time of year.”

Full Chapter on AO3

[cloudbattrolls]

been debating for a while if I had anyone pre-existing I could slot in to run the Takami company and honestly I think it would be really funny if I put Karina in there

Tuuya if they ever met Jikiro: keep an eye on that one, she's good at business and dismal at personal judgments

[serensama]

WIP Wednesday/Thursday

Thank you to @himluv @woundedsoul12 @thedissonantverses @jenn2d2 @rookamell @gingervitus @nyx-de-riva @pixiedurango @hedwigoprah I’m probably forgetting too many people- but thank you for the tags you lovely people you 😍

I worked on this last night… Minrathous will most likely be a two-parter again because I have no chill.

———

Lucanis… Rook…

Something in Spite’s voice made him tear his attention away from his friend and onto the demon, who was bent over beside the Mourn Watcher guarding the door. The small, prostrated form of the spirit worried Lucanis. He had never seen him shy away from anything, always ready to fight back and raise hell, and yet—there he was—shrinking away from the door.

“Hello, Watcher,” he said, watching Spite from the corner of his eye. He could have gone through easily; there was no need to wait for him. However, he remained fixed in his spot, almost afraid to go in without him, and a cold wash of dread settled over him.

“Hello, Master Crow. Those who fell in our fight lie in the next room. They will be taken to grave or pyre once our battle has ended as their beliefs dictate; for now, they wait, and we attend them. If you wish to pay your respects, please enter.”

———

Soft tagging: @seaglassmelody @davrinsleftpectoral @cocoboots @milothatxh @ofcrowsanddragons @introvertedfangrl @soeasilyswayed and anyone else who wants to play! If you want to be tagged please let me know and I’ll be sure to add you- the more the merrier!!!

[talonabraxas]

“As above, so below, as within, so without, as the universe, so the soul…” ― Hermes Trismegistus

Golden Wand of the Magi Talon Abraxas “Here we see his full power of transcendence, whereby the lower transcendence from underworld snake-consciousness, passing through the medium of earthly reality, finally attains transcendence to superhuman or transpersonal reality in its winged flight.” Hermes and Aesculapius If you’ve ever been to a hospital or flipped through a phone book looking up a physician, you’ve seen the image: two serpents criss-crossed around a staff topped by a round knob and flanked by wings. This is known as the caduceus, and it has been the symbol of the American medical profession for nearly a hundred years – a decidedly odd symbol for doctors, until you begin to investigate its underlying meanings.

According to Walter Friedlander, in The Golden Wand of Medicine: A History of the Caduceus Symbol in Medicine, this connection can be traced back to 1902, when the U.S. Army adopted the caduceus as the insignia of its Medical Corps, which had previously used the cross. Earlier, in the 16th and 17th centuries, the caduceus had been used by printers because it was the staff of Hermes (Mercury) the messenger god, and hence the divine deliverer of information. In the 19th century, a medical publisher used the symbol prominently on its texts, and thereby began the association of the caduceus with medicine, an association made firm by the prevalence of the image in the American Medical Corps during World War I. A symbol first representative of wisdom, eloquence, and communication, thus became the common logo for those in the health profession.

Citing the history of the caduceus, some physicians are critical of the symbol, because Hermes also happens to be the god that leads the dead to the underworld and is not only associated with wealth and commerce, but happens to be the patron of thieves (he is a classic trickster figure in Greek myths). It only makes sense that doctors wouldn’t want to be associated with trickery, death, and the accumulation of wealth! Medical purists suggest we should go back to the staff of Aesculapius, which is depicted as a single serpent coiled around a cypress branch.

The story of Aesculapius and his association with Hermes begins to make the story of the related symbols quite interesting. According to Greek myth, the god Apollo, in a fit of jealousy, killed his unfaithful mortal lover, a woman named Coronis (the Greek root of her name, korone, refers to a seabird, or a crow). When Apollo discovered that she was pregnant with his son, he had Hermes deliver the child while her body lay on the funeral pyre. The child was none other than Aesculapius.

Aesculapius was trained by the wise centaur, Chiron, to become a healer (since his father, Apollo, was the god of health), and over time, he became the god of medicine with his own cult and temples. Hippocrates, regarded as the father of western medicine, was a 20th-generation member of the cult of Aesculapius.

There are various explanations for why Aesculapius’s symbol is the serpent coiled around a staff. The figurative interpretations consider the symbology (the snake’s association with rebirth, the cypress branch as representing strength); and the utilitarian approach suggests that the snake was a poisonous one tied to the staff, its venom used for its medical properties. But the fact that Hermes was Aesculapius’s deliverer does not quite explain how the messenger god ended up with the symbol for medicine or why the serpents were doubled (though the wings might be explained as a displacement of Hermes/Mercury’s winged ankles).

What I’ve presented might seem an adequate (though incomplete) explanation of the caduceus. But as it is with most symbols from antiquity – regardless of how accurately they have retained their original meanings – the possible truth is far more complex, and to explore it is to go into that interstitial space where folklore, religion, myth, and even science begin to lose their boundaries.

The Tree and the Winged Serpent From a purely folkloric angle, it is impossible to ignore an odd fact that one finds in nearly every culture and throughout history: not only are staffs and serpents generally associated, but the juxtaposition or combination of the serpent and the bird symbols is almost always profoundly meaningful. That meaning, except in rare exceptions (which actually seem to prove the rule) is always positive, associated with healing, wisdom, and transcendence. The symbol of serpent and bird is typically reserved for powerful mythic figures, humans of unusual distinction (like shamans and mystics), or for royalty, who are often considered of divine origin.

First, consider some of the connections between the serpent and the staff or rod – those that go beyond the predictable explanation that a rod looks like a rigid serpent. In the Old Testament, during the exodus from Egypt (Numbers 21), Moses is told by God to construct a fiery serpent of brass and to display it on a pole so that those who had been bitten by poisonous snakes would be healed by gazing upon it. In the Gospel of John (John 3:14), we find this particular serpent image recalled in relation to Christ: “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up.” This allusion not only makes the serpent potentially divine like Christ, but it associates Christ with the serpent (something quite common in Gnostic texts, as I discussed in “The Binary Serpent”). Earlier, in Sumerian and Akkadian representations of the axis mundi (the axis on which the world spins), one finds a pair of serpents criss-crossed over the rod. In Teutonic myth, Odin’s universe is supported by Yggdrasil, “The World Ash.” At the top of this cosmic tree is an eagle, and in its roots is the great cosmic serpent, Nidhogg, who will devour the bones of humanity after the great fall. In Buddhist folklore, the Buddha once meditated under the tree of the serpent king. When a rainstorm threatened to get the Buddha wet, a giant cobra wrapped himself around the Buddha’s body seven times and opened his great hood over the Buddha’s head to keep him dry.

The bird seems already integral to the serpent and rod equation, and it becomes more prominent in other symbology, eventually becoming combined with the serpent. The origin of Kungfu (which is not only martial, but therapeutic and healing), refers to a folktale about a Buddhist monk (or, in some versions, a nun) who observed a crane fighting a snake and designed exercises to emulate their motions. In Sumerian and Babylonian iconography, the gods are often represented by winged disks and figures who are half human and half snake. Egyptian creation myths refer to a serpent and a primordial egg, which contained a bird of light. The Pharaohs of unified Egypt wore the trademark double crown of Horus and Set, represented by the vulture and the cobra. The serpent coiled on the foreheads of the Pharaohs represented divine fire, which originated at the base of the spine and ascended it just as the serpent had crawled up the Tree of Life. In Sanskrit, the coiled serpent is used to represent Kundalini, the energy that rises from the sacrum – the bone at the base of the spine – and results in enlightenment when it properly reaches the crown of the head through the practice of Kundalini yoga, which channels the energy along the six chakras, or energy centers, that correspond to the number of intersections of the serpent on the caduceus. Literally, Kundalini means “The Serpent Power.”

Among Egyptian hieroglyphs, one finds a prominent winged serpent, which some say is a precursor of the most famous of winged serpents, the Mesoamerican feathered serpent, Quetzalcoatl, known also as Kulkulcan. Like the Egyptian Pharaoh, Akhanaten, Quetzalcoatl declared that there was only one god, and he did away with earlier forms of sacrifice; he was a healer and a scientist, and he could take on human form. (One of history’s great ironies is how the Conquistadors took advantage of the story of Quetzalcoatl’s return to destroy a civilization.)

From a feathered serpent, it is easy to make the next association to a serpent that flies, namely the figure of the dragon (the Greek drakon, which means “serpent”). In the lore of the British Isles, the most prominent dragon is, of course, the mythic king Arthur Pendragon. In Chinese cosmology, there are four Ao, or Dragon Kings (Qin, Kuang, Jun and Xun), each with his own elemental domain. In Korean legend, virtuous serpents eventually become dragons when rising into heaven, ascending a rainbow.

The rainbow itself is a profound symbol, though here we can consider its quality of being like the colored ribbons associated with the maypole dance or the colored ribbons on the original caduceus (which also find expression in the red, white, and blue lines on the traditional barber’s pole). The rainbow is also associated with flight and presents a wing-like quality when it is bisected. In the tradition of Voodoo, one finds prominent connections between rainbow and serpent; among the Australian Aborigines, the rainbow serpent (with a host of different names, depending on language and region), is the most important figure in the Dreamtime. According to some variants of the Dreamtime myths, it is the primary creator of geological features that linger in the mundane world.

When the symbol of the caduceus is stylized and simplified, it creates another set of linked associations. For decades, anthropologists have tried to decipher the meaning of the symbol found among the ruins of Minoan Crete (one of the primary sources of Greek civilization). This symbol, called the labrys, is often called a double-headed axe because it resembles one.

Feminists have reinterpreted it, given the Minoan culture, to represent the wings of a butterfly spread at the top of a rod (which might represent a caterpillar); it is read now as a symbol of transformation and transcendence, which makes it parallel to the caduceus; but scholars have not yet realized that it is, in fact, a simplified caduceus. Less sophisticated renditions of the labrys scratched onto stones and walls look like a sideways hourglass on top of a line.

Likewise, in a more modern context, we tend to take the familiar pharmacists’s logo to be an overlapping R and X, when, in fact, it is a skewed rendition of the Greek letters Chi (X) and Ro (P), which are actually a representation of Christ (Chi and Ro being the first two letters in his name). The pharmacist’s ChiRo is an invocation of Christ’s healing power, just as the ChiRo in Chiropracty (in case you’ve wondered) is a reference to Christ. The Chi and Ro used in Christian iconography look remarkably similar to the simplified labrys, though the connection may seem forced until one examines the symbology of Christ on the cross.

When the serpent and the bird are forcefully separated, they tend to take on opposite and antagonistic meanings. A good example of this phenomenon is what happens in Genesis, when the serpent is demonized as Satan and the tree of life is taboo. This contrasts with the story of the flood in which the white bird (the dove) bringing back the olive branch is associated with salvation as it finds the place for Noah to land (and note the use of the rainbow symbol as a promise from God never again to flood the earth).

In the New Testament, the dove represents the Holy Spirit who, in Catholic symbology, is part of the Trinity. Since I’ve already pointed out how Christ has been equated with the serpent, suffice it to say that if God, Christ, and the Holy Spirit are one and the same according to the doctrine of the Trinity, then the Catholic crucifix is implicitly a caduceus as well: the cross is the staff, and Christ is simultaneously serpent and bird. And the knob at the top of the caduceus? On the crucifix, that is implied by the presence of God, though it is ironically inhibited by the crown of thorns.

[kabsey]

It's time for... the Dellamorte thought of the day! Yay!

Today's theory: Caterina favored Lucanis because they share the same (unhealthy) coping mechanism.

When Davrin asks Lucanis how he survived the Ossuary, he says that he "shut down completely," ignoring any thought or feeling that did not relate to survival and escape.

I would be willing to bet Lucanis's favorite cooking utensil that Caterina did the same thing when her family was murdered. I bet the pyres weren't even cold before she started the boys' training. Her brain blocked it all out except for one thought: keep these boys alive.

And this suited Lucanis fine. ("I don't need time. I need to work.") He saw his grandmother lock all that terrible pain and grief away, and he said, "Great idea, Nonna."

But what if Illario couldn't? What if he needed to cry and had nightmares and broke things when he couldn't take the horror of it all? What if every time he did, it reminded Caterina and Lucanis of the agony they were trying so desperately to ignore? What if it made him vulnerable?

"Vulnerability could get him killed!" shouted Caterina's brain.

So she tried to beat it out of him. She berated him for his weakness. She encouraged Lucanis to disdain him, using his cousin as another blunt instrument with which to punish him for the grave sin of having feelings ("with which to save him," corrected her brain).

So the three of them never properly mourned: Caterina and Lucanis as a way of coping and Illario because he was forbidden to.

And I don't think it's possible for any combination of the three of them to have any kind of real relationships with each other until they take the time to grieve that first horrible loss.

I think Illario could if he got away from them and the Crows, at least for a while. I have less hope for Lucanis, but perhaps he could if he ever became a father and/or fledgling trainer and realized how damaging it is to treat children that way. He may even get glimpses of it when he becomes First Talon and, for the first time in his life, is responsible for someone's life besides his own.

Or perhaps he sees his friends mourn their own losses during Veilguard, and he, in time, slowly asks how they do it. (Imagine how much Emmrich could help him. No wonder Lucanis hates the Necropolis and its reminders of death. But imagine if he could learn to appreciate some of its beauties.)

I don't know if Caterina could ever truly mourn the loss she suffered. It's too big, and she has hidden from it for three decades. The killers who murdered her children and grandchildren also murdered whoever Caterina Dellamorte was before that day.