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tigerkirby215 · 3 years

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5e Tahm Kench, the River King build (League of Legends)

(Artwork by Pan Chengwei. Made for Riot Games.)

I guess I’ve still got demons on the mind after Halloween. Truth be told while I do hope to someday make a build for every champ I’m very hesitant to make builds for the “monsterous” champs. Cho’Gath, Kog’Maw, and Tahm Kench were all on that list for one reason and one reason alone: you can’t say “I puke on / eat / lick the enemy” without drawing a few strange glances. But the good folk over at Doran’s & Dragons did a Tahm Kench build and while I get where they were going for I’m personally not the biggest fan.

D’s&Ds tries to capture the flavor of the character much more than their abilities, which I can greatly appreciate. I think if you want a smooth-talking demon who swindles people out of everything, including their lives, than D’s&Ds’ build for Tahm is great. But I’m more interested in the mechanics of Tahm Kench: with literal thick skin to absorb incoming damage, a tongue that can leave our opponents stunned, and the ability to... vore your friends to keep them out of harm’s way.

No there aren’t vanilla rules for eating your friends alive! It’s all going to be reflavoring! See this is exactly why I didn’t want to do Tahm.

GOALS

I am enthralled by your class and refinement - Tahm Kench is a demon of greed, luring in unsuspecting hopefuls with promises of prosperity. We’ll need a tongue as sharp as a sword, and a sword as sharp as our tongue.

You have succeeded only in ruffling my attire! - To walk around looking like a Disney Caricature you need to have some thick skin. While other champs wear armor Tahm just has Thick Skin.

All the world's a river; and I'm its king - With a mouth that big you’ve gotta put it to good use, helping your allies across the river... regardless of if they want to go. (Well, most spells that target allies in D&D have to be willing...)

RACE

While I appreciate D’s&D and their take by making Tahm Kench a Locatha they were made for a Second Life charity module, which means they’re not officially endorsed at Adventurer’s League or other such gatherings. Also the friend who shares content with me on D&D Beyond doesn’t own Locatha Rising.

Also technically this build isn’t AL legal since it uses multiple sourcebooks (Mordenkainen's + others) so uhhhh...

Also this build is going to use a subclass that wasn’t available when D’s&D made their build.

With that being said Two-Coats is a demon so we’ll go for the demon race: Tiefling! More specifically we’ll get acquainted with the icy depths of the river as a Levistus Tiefling. Levistus Tieflings see their Charisma score increase by 2 and their Constitution increase by 1 for some protection thanks to the cold. Additionally you get some innate spells thanks to Legacy of Stygia, which I’ll cover when they come up.

All Tieflings have 60 feet of Darkvision, Hellish Resistance to Fire damage, and the ability to speak Common and Infernal. The only thing that changes with your Tiefling subrace is your ability scores and your innate spellcasting, and truly your brand of demon doesn’t matter much. "Call me king, call me demon - water forgets the names of the drowned."

ABILITY SCORES

15; CHARISMA - For a truly delicious meal you need to soften them up a little first. Take it smooth and let them relax before going in for the kill.

14; CONSTITUTION - Kench is a chunky lad who can take quite a beating. It takes more than a blade to slay the king.

13; STRENGTH - You need quite the strong stomach to hold down tougher meals. “Needs salt!”

12; WISDOM - You need a bit of natural intuition to know how folk tick.

10; INTELLIGENCE - Live long enough and you learn quite a bit. At least enough to promise knowledge to anyone looking for it.

8; DEXTERITY - As said before the river king is a large demon of a man, who can take as much time as he wants to get a meal.

BACKGROUND

No surprises here: Tahm Kench is a Charlatan, swindling folk all across Runeterra out of everything they once owned... including their lives.

Well, maybe a few surprises. You will still be taking Deception but instead of Slight of Hand take Persuasion proficiency, because you’re more of a smooth talker than a con artist. I’m also going to suggest taking two Languages instead of two Tools: take whatever language you think you may need, but to talk your way to your next meal they’ll have to be able to understand you.

Regardless you can’t have them knowing your a demon, so take a False Identity as the king. Most folk think you’re a kind soul, with plenty to back you up. And you can always get any papers they may desire.

(Artwork by Alex “alexplank” Flores. Made for Riot Games.)

THE BUILD

LEVEL 1 - FIGHTER 1

Starting off as a Fighter because funny Constitution saving throws, among other things. "My constitution is unflappable!" Regardless you get proficiency in two skills from the Fighter list so take Insight and Athletics to know who’s ready to be carried down river.

You also get a Fighting Style of your choice and while I’d love to get a Reach weapon or indeed any two-handed weapon one of Tahm Kench’s best assets is the Protection he can provide his allies. For this you’ll need a shield (and you can take a regular Strength weapon along side it) but if an attack is coming their way you can grab them in your maw to give the attack disadvantage... Or you could not vore your allies, and take the Defense Fighting Style instead to get more AC.

Well at least if anyone gets mad at all the vore comments you can tank it with your Thick Skin and regenerate it with Second Wind. (The Fighter ability, not the rune in the Resolve tree.) And to fight back with a lashing of your tongue Ray of Frost from Legacy of Stygia will do some damage at range and slow down your foes. It’s not a stun yet... not yet.

LEVEL 2 - BARD 1

What? Did you think we wouldn’t have some tricks of the charmer’s trade? As a Bard you get one proficiency in any skill and one instrument proficiency. Choose Intimidation because my what big teeth you have! (But truthfully take whatever proficiency works for your party, as Tahm Kench can be whatever you want him to be.) As for instrument I’m going to have to go for Lute: it’s the closest you’ll get to a tongue guitar, and don’t you dare say “tongue guitar” at your D&D table.

Regardless Bards get Bardic Inspiration at first level, to make sure you fulfill the support role through the use of honeyed words and sweet nothings. You get a pool of d6s that you can give to an ally to add to their attack rolls, skill checks, or saving throws. You can give a d6 as an action and have a number of them equal to your proficiency bonus, and regain them all at the end of a long rest.

But wait! There’s more! You also get Spellcasting as a Bard: you get two cantrips from the Bard list. A man of fine tastes needs to keep his outfit in check, so take Mending to do that. Vicious Mockery meanwhile will let you use that trademark Tahm Kench sharp tongue (not the literal sharp tongue) to taunt your foes and make it harder for them to hurt your allies. "The baseness of your appetite repulses me!"

As for leveled spells you can pick four of them at first level: naturally you’ll need Charm Person to tempt mortals with pleasing bargains. To worry them that you’re coming to collect Dissonant Whispers will fill their minds with unease. To open up your foes for your friends to take them down Bane will loosen their resolve. And to make sure everyone laughs at your jokes? Tasha’s Hideous Laughter.

LEVEL 3 - BARD 2

Second level Bards are Jack of All Trades, letting you add half your proficiency bonus to any skill you’re not proficient in. Tahm Kench is a demon, and he needs to be able to help wherever he can to tempt others to ask him for help.

Speaking of help you also get Song of Rest to give allies an extra d6 of healing during short rests. Since I doubt Tahm Kench is much of a singer, consider this more of him telling stories of grandeur that only the king of river would know. Or perhaps you’re cooking everyone some food? Who knows.

And finally you can learn another spell, but I’m actually going to wait for next level since we’ve gotten all the first level spells we really need already. But you do get Armor of Agathys thanks to Legacy of Stygia, for some Thornmail to boost your defenses.

LEVEL 4 - BARD 3

Third level Bards get Expertise in two skills to double your proficiency bonus: naturally we’ll go for Deception and Persuasion to have little trouble striking up a bargain.

But much more importantly you get to choose your Bardic College, and I think it’s safe to say that Tahm Kench is a self-taught master of the College of Eloquence. Eloquence Bards have a Silver Tongue, making any roll below a 10 on a Persuasion or a Deception role default to a 10. Notice how we just gave ourselves Expertise on those checks? This means that the lowest you can get on one of these checks is a 17, which for most folk is an automatic success! "How delectable!"

Additionally, your works make it harder to resist the effects of magic. Unsettling Words lets you spend a Bonus Action to roll Bardic Inspiration on an enemy. The next saving throw they make they have to subtract the number you rolled on the Inspiration die. This has synergy with both yourself and your friends. Honey your words before charming folk to hear you, or soften up a foe for some crazy mage to take them down.

Speaking of crazy mage: more spells! The great part about a character like Tahm Kench is that I am completely justified taking utility / roleplay spells like Gift of Gab, letting you backtrack in case you say something silly during a conversation. (With a small royalty fee to the good folk over at Acquisitions Incorporated, of course.) But if you want something more immediately useful then Hold Person will let you stun foes with your words, keeping them in place for allies to cut them down.

LEVEL 5 - BARD 4

Fourth level Bards get an Ability Score Improvement but I’m going to suggest something a little different. Old Yawn-Belly is a demon with a hunger for fine clothes so there shouldn’t be much issue taking the Eldritch Adept Unearthed Arcana feat, soon to be in Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything! With a Mask of Many Faces you can cast Disguise Self at will. This will let you wear a fine jacket while still being in heavy armor. "How did I leave my jacket pocket unadorned for so long?"

I really like unlimited Disguise Self for Tahm Kench for a number of reasons. It’s said that he can take whatever form he desires to lure in his victims, which makes sense given the nature of his character. Unlimited Disguise Self also obviously has use for a charmer, letting you get away with a lot more discussion than normal. But the most important thing is that while Tahm Kench doesn’t wear anything heavy in-game he’s far from stealthy. But disguising your armor doesn’t make it any quieter, which is unironically perfect for our affairs.

Regardless you can learn another spell at this level, along with another cantrip. For your cantrip Prestidigitation is great for life’s simple pleasures, recreating simple things like heating food, chilling drinks, or making things taste like whatever you desire.

For leveled spells may I make a suggestion of the Suggestion spell? It’ll let you make simple suggestions for things that folks should do, and they’ll be inclined to do it. They won’t do anything dangerous like stand in the jaws of a demon, but asking them to walk alone down river is a pretty harmless ask. Oh and to top it off a Tiefling gets Darkness at 5th level, thanks to Legacy of Stygia.

(Artwork by robynlauart on DeviantArt)

LEVEL 6 - BARD 5

5th level Bards get Font of Inspiration to recover their Bardic Inspiration at the end of a Short Rest, which is good because your Bardic Inspiration also increases to a d8.

Additionally you can learn third level spells like Sending to check up on some old deals. If you can’t tell it’s really hard to translate Bard spells onto Tahm Kench, but we kinda need a few more levels in this class.

LEVEL 7 - BARD 6

6th level Eloquence Bards get Unfailing Inspiration. If an ally uses your Bardic Inspiration but still don’t succeed on their roll, they get to keep the die. Simple! You also get Universal Speech, allowing you to choose a number of creatures equal to your Charisma modifier to understand anything you may say. There’s no reason you can’t strike a deal with the local wildlife. And finally you get Countercharm for some Tenacity against Charms and Frightening effects, or you could not do that.

Unfortunately you can’t understand them when you use Universal Speech, but that’s where the spell Tongues comes in. Along with ha ha Tahm Kench Tongue you can make sure anyone understand what you or an ally might be saying. Keep Universal Speech for the simpletons of the world. "You're strong like bull, and smart like cow."

LEVEL 8 - BARD 7

7th level Bards finally get 4th level spells, and as we know "It is my mouth into which all travels end." Take Dimension Door to grab a friend (in your mouth... or not) and go far and wide.

LEVEL 9 - BARD 8

8th level Bards get an Ability Score Improvement and seeing as our last ASI went to getting a top hat we may as well increase that uneven Strength and Charisma.

You can also learn another spell and there are quite a few nice ones at 4th level. Confusion and Compulsion will let your words do the fighting for you, and Locate Creature will help you find anyone looking for a bargain. Or of course you could take your own spell, since these builds are only suggestions after all.

(Artwork by MirthSpindle on DeviantArt.)

LEVEL 10 - FIGHTER 2

Now that we can get people to sign a contract it’s time to take what’s rightfully ours. But firstly Fighters get Action Surge at second level to take two actions on a turn. Perhaps a Hail of Blades, or maybe a mix of words to sully the mind?

LEVEL 11 - FIGHTER 3

Third level Fighters can choose their Martial Archetype and to master your tongue in more ways than one (not like that you perv) look no further than the Battle Master Fighter. You get d8 Combat Superiority Die that can fuel a variety of manuevers:

To stun a foe with your lashing tongue take Trip Attack, for a little more than just stopping them in their tracks.

To grab an ally in your mouth (or preferably not doing that) Maneuvering Attack will let you get them to move somewhere safe without being in danger of getting attacked themselves.

And to play the tank role of the party Goading Attack will taunt your enemies so that they can only concentrate on you. You can take it: you have Thick Skin!

But of course most importantly you are a Student of War, granting proficiency in an Artisan’s Tool of your choice. If you’re going to write contracts you’re going to need good penmanship, so grab proficiency in Calligrapher’s Supplies as the pen is mightier than the sword and Tulok the Barbrarian memes shall live on eternally.

LEVEL 12 - FIGHTER 4

4th level means more Ability Score Improvements and... you know? I don’t think we’re nearly tanky enough! Infernal Constitution is a feat exclusive to Tieflings that grants resistance to Cold and Poison damage, as well as the poisoned condition. And it increases your Constitution by 1 as well. "My visage was already flawless, now it just has more vigor."

LEVEL 13 - FIGHTER 5

5th level Fighters get an Extra Attack for two attacks instead of one, or four with Action Surge! Quick and easy!

(Artwork by benlo on DeviantArt.)

LEVEL 14 - FIGHTER 6

Hey more Ability Score Improvements! You know despite intending to swing a sword around your Strength is rather subpar, so perhaps increase that. (This also finally lets you put on Platemail.)

LEVEL 15 - FIGHTER 7

A friend is an enemy who hasn’t shown their true self yet, so you can know your friends with Know Your Enemy. By spending a minute studying someone you can learn if they’re worth bargaining with. You can learn their Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Armor, Hit Points, Level, and Fighter level. Most NPCs don’t have class levels, but knowing how hard you need to hit them could help the whole party.

You also get two more Maneuvers: Evasive Footwork will let you dash off to safety, and while disarming isn’t common in Runeterra Disarming Strike seems quite in flavor for someone as... dexterous as yourself.

LEVEL 16 - FIGHTER 8

Isn’t Fighter fun when you increase your abilities every other level? Your Strength is still kinda godawful so good for that if you’d please.

LEVEL 17 - FIGHTER 9

9th level Fighters get Indomitable. If you fail a saving throw you can reroll it. You only get one of these per Long Rest so use it on a save you’re likely to succeed on like Strength, Constitution, Charisma, or... well yeah basically those three.

(Artwork by davicomodo on DeviantArt. They deactivated their account though: sad.)

LEVEL 18 - FIGHTER 10

10th level Fighters get Improved Combat Superiority. Now your d8s are d10s!

You know what else that means? More Maneuvers! To absorb even more damage Parry will give you some Bone Plating for absorption. If however by this point an ally of yours can do a lot more damage with their weapon then Commander’s Strike will let you set them up for the Pentakill!

LEVEL 19 - FIGHTER 11

11th level Fighters get another Extra Attack for 3 attacks per round. That’s enough for your three-hit passive!

LEVEL 20 - FIGHTER 12

12th level Fighters get our final Ability Score Improvement: for stronger charms and more smooth-talking to both ally and foe, take Charisma. For a different type of stronger tongue with deadlier maneuvers grab Strength instead. And if you just want to be a chunky tanky conman then Constitution is also an option!

FINAL BUILD

PROS

Every heart has its own hunger - Despite not maxing out your Charisma you’re still the king of speech. +16 in Deception and Persuasion with your lowest possible roll being a 10. That means the lowest you can get on these rolls is a 26! Not to mention that Jack of All Trades as a Bard makes you plenty good at any skill the party may need help with, and unlimited Disguise Self letting you take whatever role is needed.

Every river ends in me! - You are also a very good team player. Bardic Inspiration that never fails, tons of different ways to hold the enemy down, and several options to help your friends while they’re in a jam. "Travel awaits."

You have succeeded only in ruffling my attire! - Wow who would’ve guessed that building a tanky character to be a tank would make them tanky? You should have quite the solid healthbar and resistances to three very common damage types is nothing to scoff at, not to mention that you can wear Heavy Armor and a Shield for crazy high AC.

CONS

Are you the waiter of this establishment? - Most of your abilities rely on charges of some kind. While Maneuvers and Bardic Inspiration comes back on a Short Rest spell slots only come back after a Long one, and you don’t have many spell slots to spare.

I wonder who might like to bargain for a little freedom - This build is very ASI greedy which means a lot of your abilities are very subpar. Your low DEX score in particular is rather harsh as many dangerous spells require DEX saving throws.

Might be savory - Because this build is so ASI greedy your stats still aren’t maxed out. +3 to CON and +4 to CHA are great and all but they aren’t +5, ya know? And even with Jack of All Trades your skill checks aren’t going to beat out a specialist.

But you don’t need to be a god to sign a deal; a demon does it just as well. Master your articulation so that you can be sharp with your tongue in whatever means necessary. Bargain with your allies and seal the deal on your foes, and for the love of all that is good in the world don’t vore anyone! Jeeze!

(Artwork by Pan Chengwei. Made for Riot Games.)

#dnd #dnd 5e #dnd build #dnd guide #League of Legends #League of Legends Tahm Kench #Tahm Kench #river king #dnd fighter #dnd bard

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recentanimenews · 3 years

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Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation – 08 – Growing Up Fast

Two years have passed since Eris’ tenth birthday, which means Rudeus’s tenth birthday has arrived. He can sense scurryings and murmurings around the Boreas mansion, but he doesn’t expect much in the way of a celebration. For one, he’s a member of the Notos branch of the Greyrats, one of four main families.

For him to be under Boreas protection invites “unwelcome misunderstandings”, so they’ve kept it quiet. But when the day arrives, after discovering Ghislaine’s rock-hard glutes (she takes her diversionary role very seriously) while inspecting her tail, Rudy is shown to the main banquet hall where the entire Boreas household is gathered to celebrate his birthday.

Eris presents him with a bouquet, and Rudy reacts with tears he had practiced, leading an overly-moved Lord Sauros to start an inter-Greyrat war for his sake. Even Eris’ mom Hilda is moved, first offering to adopt Rudy, then insisting he marry Eris! The big secret Eris and Ghislaine were concealing from Rudy is Aqua Heartia, a superb magical staff made in Asura that must’ve cost a fortune.

As the party winds down and a tuckered-out Eris is carried to bed, Phillip explains why Hilda has been so cold to him these past years: his brother in the capital took Eris’ older and younger brothers, as all male Boreas are raised in the main household.

He makes a seemingly serious proposal for Rudy to marry Eris and take over the Boreas household, offering to handle the coup. Rudy, wanting no part of power struggles, leaves their discussion as idle chitchat over wine and retires for the night.

To Rudy’s surprise, Eris is waiting in his bed wearing a nightie and with silkier-than-usual hair, worried he’d be lonely the night of his birthday and offering to share the bed with him. So begins the most uncomfortable scene in the whole series, in which Rudy first imagines doing something to Eris. The Eris in his head yells “no” and he ends his fantasy immediately.

Then Rudy warns the Eris outside his head that if she stays with him he might “try something dirty (ecchi)“, to which she replies that “just a little” is fine with her. Alas, Rudy goes way too far, attempting to do far more than “just a little” and immediately receives a beatdown for it. Lying on the floor, Rudy is filled with regret for forgetting himself in the moment. Eris ends up coming right back, and he prostrates himself in apology.

She forgives him because it’s a “special day,” but warns him it’s far too soon for such things, urging him to “control himself” for five more years when he’ll be a proper adult —at least in this renaissance-analogous timeline. Taking her words as a promise that they’ll be properly together one day, Rudy swears off “indulgences”, only to remember that Sylphie is no doubt waiting for him…

Back at his home, Sylphie visits the Greyrats, and we see that Norn and Aisha have grown into adorable toddlers. Sylphie has an item she wants send to Rudy, and Lilia promises to send it, along with a box which most likely contains the “holy relic”—payback for saving her from having to leave the home.

Paul, meanwhile, has been inordinately busy hunting an increased number of monsters in the forest, which kept him from attending Rudy’s party in Roa. The double-ringed red orb in the sky has grown, and seems to be responsible for an unusual accumulation of mana which even Roxy can see in the sky from her royal post.

She’s not the only one who notices this. There’s a very badass-looking guy on a mountain who is able to tame dragons; the much goofier-looking, Zvezda-esque “Great Emperor of the Demon World” with the Japanese name Kishirika Kishirisu; and of course, Lord Perugius in his ornate flying castle. Sensing someone could be trying to undo the seal on the Demon-God Laplace, he dispatches his lieutenant Almanfi to investigate.

The looks in on these colorful previously unseen characters greatly expand the world of Mushoku Tensei in a matter of minutes, but they are only teases; it will be up to the show to flesh out these new players and whatever factions or masters they serve. No doubt this convergence of mana will bring them all crashing together…and who else would be in the direct center of it than Rudeus Greyrat?

He’s come to a large open field with Eris and Ghislaine to test out his new staff and show them Cumulonimbus for the first time. But before he can complete the spell, the sky becomes sickly and miasmic in color and pocked with vortices and eddies. Almanfi teleports, and Ghislaine crosses swords with him. He believes Rudy to be the source of the “disturbance”, but Ghislaine rightly tells him he’s mistaken.

Because she is a true Sword King, Almanfi stays his sword. But who or whatever is causing the disturbance takes things to the next level, as a column of blinding blue light starts to expand across the landscape, swallowing up Ghislaine as she orders Rudy to take Eris and go. Eris loses her footing and Rudy shields her with his body just as the light washes over them, leaving us to ponder what the heck is in store for them next.

While I’m sure the series always intended to end this episode on a cliffhanger, the fact that the bedroom scene lingered on so long and past its welcome had the effect of compressing those glimpses of the bigger picture. Not that Rudy and Eris one day tying the knot isn’t critical importance…but they can’t marry if Laplace wakes up and destroys the world!

By: magicalchurlsukui

#Anime #News #RABUJOI – An Anime Blog

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scoutception · 4 years

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Dragon Quest I & II review

Dragon Quest: the definitive Japanese role playing game series, the one that started it all, kept improving upon that foundation, and has kept sight of just what made it a success, and stuck to it, for almost 35 years. In Japan, anyway. While the series certainly put in a good effort, managing to release the first four NES games overseas, under the title of Dragon Warrior, it was just too little, too late, in each case. The first game only got localized in 1989, 3 years after its original Famicom release. By then, the third game was already out in Japan, and the original Final Fantasy, an undeniably more advanced game than Dragon Quest I, would be localized less than a year later. Despite acclaimed offerings in later gens, like Dragon Quest VIII, and the DS remakes of Dragon Quest IV, V, and VI, the series has just failed to make an impact in the West despite its importance, and while it’s currently probably the most popular it’s ever been, thanks to the release of the even more acclaimed Dragon Quest XI, and the Hero’s inclusion in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, it’s still a far cry from its status in its home country, and thus, out of curiosity, I decided to start going through the series myself, starting with the SNES remake of the first two games. Note that this version was never actually released outside of Japan, and thus requires a fan translation to play in English. Almost every other release, including a similar remake on the Gameboy Color, and a collection including the third game on the Switch, were officially localized, and so may be better options. Either way, let’s start on it all.

Dragon Quest I:

Story: The story of Dragon Quest I takes place on the continent of Alefgard, ruled by King Lorik of Tantegel and protected by the Sphere of Light, a magical object originally bestowed upon Erdrick, a legendary hero who once saved the land in ancient times. Alefgard’s peace is shattered, however, by an invasion by the Dragonlord, an evil sorcerer residing within Charlock Castle, who caused a mass appearance of monsters throughout the realm, stole the Sphere of Light, and kidnapped Princess Gwaelin, Lorik’s daughter. Just when it seemed Alefgard would be permanently shrouded in darkness, however, a descendant of Erdrick appeared, and with the assistance of Lorik, sets out to defeat the Dragonlord and save the realm as his ancestor did. That’s pretty much the extent of Dragon Quest I’s story. There’s really not a plot so much as just a premise. The towns have no story going on in them, no substantial events happen as you progress through the game, even saving Gwaelin is more for the sake of gameplay than anything else, something I’ll get to later. That said, it was 1986, and the game even having as much dialogue throughout as it does throughout was extremely uncommon in those days. It also had a few neat twists throughout, like rescuing Gwaelin happening partway through the game rather than being the ultimate goal, similar to Final Fantasy, the Dragonlord making the Hero a deceptive offer of alliance instead attacking on sight, and the Hero speaking, after spending the whole game silent, to decline the king’s offer to rule the land, deciding that if he is to rule a kingdom, he wishes it to be one he makes himself. The original NES translation, and the revised translation for the mobile version, also have pseudo-Elizabethan dialogue that, while incredibly cheesy, gives the game a lot of charm. Overall, there’s really not much to find in Dragon Quest I’s story, and is quite possibly the most basic JRPG story there is, but it deserves appreciation for what it did at the time, especially considering that Yuji Hori, the designer, also made The Portopia Serial Murder Case three years prior, an adventure game that helped influence visual novels as a genre. It may not be impressive now, but it was significant all the same.

Gameplay: As you might suspect, the gameplay of DQ1 isn’t much more advanced than its story. You control the Hero, and, unlike almost all other RPGs, only the Hero, exploring Alefgard, visiting towns, fighting enemies on the world map and within dungeons, gathering equipment, and collecting various plot items necessary to create the path to the Dragonlord’s castle. Combat simply consists of physically attacking, using magic, namely healing, attack, and status effect spells, defending, and running away. Monsters are only ever encountered one at a time, and there’s only four bosses scattered throughout the game, with only the two phase Dragonlord being outright mandatory. Equipment comes in the form of weapons, shields, and armor, plus a few accessories that can be equipped, and consumable items such as herbs to restore HP, torches to light up dungeons, and keys to open locked doors are also available. The Hero naturally learns spells as he levels up, and besides the aforementioned combat spells, he learns utility spells as well, such as Glow, which lights up dungeons without needing a torch, Repel, which keeps weaker random encounters from appearing, and Return, which automatically teleports you back to Tantegel Castle.

While you can get some information talking to NPCs, generally, you’re left to figure out just what to do next on your own. Most of the time, the answer is grinding. It’s not an exaggeration to say that most of the game is made up of grinding. With only four dungeons in the game, one of them being completely optional and only containing some items, and another being little more than a passage way outside of containing Gwaelin and the first boss, and only six towns, with nearly nothing to do within except buying items and resting at inns, the game would be absurdly short on its own. That said, while justified, it’s not the most forgiving time. While equipment is obviously quite helpful, the limited availability and high price of each piece means that, invariably, you’ll have to go out onto the overworld and grind for lengthy periods of time, either to accumulate levels to make you strong enough to safely make the trip to your destination, or earning gold for items that’ll fulfill the same purpose. Trying to go anywhere underleveled almost always results in a swift death, not helped by how difficult it can be at times to discern just where you’re meant to be next, and Tantegel being the only available save point doesn’t help. Not even the start of the game takes any mercy, with you only being given a torch, a medicinal herb, if you look around, and a fairly piddly amount of money, which really stings when you start absolutely no equipment. You either have to forsake proper armor in order to buy the second best weapon, or buy armor, and be stuck with a bamboo spear that’s barely better than your bare fists. Grinding out for the rest of the equipment either way isn’t especially dangerous, but it sets the tone for the rest of the game quite well.

That said, as restrictive and unforgiving as the game is in a lot of ways, it’s surprisingly relaxed in other ways. The lack of story, and sheer strength of the random encounters, means there’s surprisingly few physical roadblocks, other than doors that need magical keys, which mostly show up in dungeons anyway, and the path to the Dragonlord’s castle that requires the Rainbow Drop, the culmination of the fetch quests throughout the game, to be traversed. Otherwise, assuming you’re strong enough, you’re free to go wherever you wish. Additionally, assuming you know what you’re doing, important parts of the game, such as rescuing Gwaelin, which requires fighting the Green Dragon, and opening up Cantlin, which requires fighting the Golem, are completely optional; their main purposes are to help locate a key item on a nondescript part of the world map, and if you know where to find it, you can simply collect it on your own and save yourself the trouble, something most later RPGs would usually bar you from. The game will even alter the ending a bit if you don’t mess with rescuing Gwaelin, or don’t return her before the end of the game, showing it was very much intentional. This helps give the game a very casual feeling pace; since there’s not that much to see or do, there’s not much reason to try to rush. You can afford to take it slow and steady, which helps make the grinding a bit more tolerable than if it were keeping you from some detailed plot event. There’s not even a way to actually game over, as death simply sends you back to Tantegel, at the cost of losing half your money. Punishing if you got caught off guard during a grind session, not so much if you were simply exploring after gearing up.

There’s also a good amount of surprisingly thoughtful gameplay elements throughout. For example, the Golem boss is normally a very difficult opponent, but there exists a flute that can put it to sleep when used in battle, making it much, much easier. Despite this, however, you can still beat the Golem without the flute, if you’re strong enough, so it’s more just a way of letting you beat it at lower levels. There’s also the infamous Metal Slimes and Gold Golems, who can be encountered in specific parts of the world map, and reward massive amounts of experience or gold, respectively, if you can manage to defeat them. While more than a bit luck based in the case of the Metal Slime, as they take minimal damage from physical attacks, are immune to magic, and will gladly flee at any opportunity, they’re still massive boons if you can defeat them, and save you a good amount of grinding. There’s also an example as far as equipment goes: the second best weapon and armor, the Flame Sword and the Magic Armor are prohibitively expensive, and trying to get enough to afford them could make you do more grinding than you’d need to beat the game anyway, but the best in those categories can simply be found for free, with Erdrick’s Armor being guarded by the third boss, the Knight Aberrant, and Erdrick’s Sword being found in the depths of the Dragonlord’s Castle. While acquiring them is obviously a bit more difficult by skipping buying the sword and armor, and the best shield, the Silver Shield, needs to be bought regardless, it’s still very possible, and can save you a good bit of work, especially with the armor’s ability to heal you with every step you take.

The experience is also streamlined a good deal by the changes this remake, and all the remakes afterwards, make, most notably reducing the amount of experience needed to level up, and increasing the amount of gold dropped by enemies to make grinding slightly faster. Additionally, compared to having to go into the menu for actions such as talking and opening doors, a general purpose button has been added that do such things automatically, and stat boosting seeds have been added across the game, allowing you to strengthen yourself a bit more than usual. Overall, saying Dragon Quest I’s gameplay is primitive by today’s standards would be an understatement, and yet it’s held up oddly well despite that. The grinding is simply emblematic of NES RPGs as a whole, and because of its simple gameplay, it’s nowhere near as cryptic, overly convoluted, or frustrating as many others that would come afterwards, such as the original Mother, Final Fantasy II, or its own sequel. That said, it’s so simple and repetitive that it’s unlikely to do much for you if you don’t have a taste for older games, and most of those games with much more visible flaws are often much more entertaining experiences.

Graphics: As this remake uses the engine for Dragon Quest V, it looks quite similar, comparable to the SNES versions of Final Fantasy IV and V. Generally, the graphics are decent, but unremarkable, especially with the overworld sprites. Dragon Quest famously features art and designs by Akira Toriyama, the creator of Dragon Ball, but while the art and designs themselves look great, they aren’t translated into the game the best. While it’s certainly an improvement over the NES version, the overworld sprites are still small and simplistic enough that they don’t look that great, and the rest of the characters and environments aren’t anything special either.

That said, the enemies are a whole other story. Toriyama created possibly the most adorable bestiary of enemies ever, from the famous smiling, tear drop shaped slimes, to bats with equally goofy smiles, ghosts wearing witch hats, and even the Dragonlord looks pretty goofy at first. It’s hard to be intimidated by most of the enemies, but it gives them a lot of charm, and the more serious looking enemies, like the golems and dragons work quite well. Their sprites in battle are a huge improvement over the overworld sprites as well, and are easily the highlight of the game’s visuals.

Music: Dragon Quest I’s soundtrack, as with the rest of the series, was composed by Koichi Sugiyama, and while the amount of tracks is quite small, it’s still a very catchy and classic soundtrack, especially in this version. Tracks like the Tantegel Castle theme, the overworld theme, and the battle theme have been significantly extended from their original versions, making them much less repetitive, and the music in general is updated very, very well. My favorite change is to the cave theme, which, in the NES version, would simply slow down and lower the pitch the lower you go in each dungeon. In this version, while not every floor has its own version of the theme anymore, the different versions are much more significantly different from each other, with the third version being downright sinister, and the exclusive version for the Dragonlord’s lair being near unrecognizable. It’s very much worth checking out. Dragon Quest II: Luminaries of the Legendary Line

Here we have the awkward middle point between Dragon Quest I, the game that started up the JRPG genre, and Dragon Quest III, the game that would definitively refine it. It’s not that Dragon Quest II was a bad effort, as it is in many ways a much more advanced game than DQ1, and holds up surprisingly well in most aspects, considering it had a mere six months to be developed, but at the same time, the greater complexity means it doesn’t have the simple appeal of DQ1, and the improvements are still well behind what DQ3 did, and that’s not even considering the problems within DQ2 itself. Unsurprisingly, it’s easily the least popular of the original trilogy, and one of the most obscure of the main games. Still, I tried to give it a fair chance, so let’s get into it now. Story: After defeating the Dragonlord, the Hero set out with Princess Gwaelin to discover lands away from Alefgard, eventually resulting in the founding of three different kingdoms, spread out between the landmass of Torland: Middenhall, Cannock, and Moonbroke, all ruled by descendants of the Hero. After 100 years of peace, however, Moonbroke Castle is attacked and destroyed by the forces of Hargon, an evil sorcerer and cultist seeking to destroy the world by summoning Malroth, the god of destruction. Though the king of Moonbrooke is killed in the attack, the princess of Moonbrooke escapes, as well as a lone soldier, who travels to Middenhall Castle and informs the king of Hargon’s attack and ambitions before succumbing to his wounds. As the king of Middenhall is too old to stop Hargon himself, he instead tasks his young son to join up with his cousins, the prince of Cannock and princess of Moonbrooke, so that they may fight Hargon together. Thus, the prince of Middenhall ventures out, to live up to the legacy of both Erdrick and the Hero.

It’s really not much more plot than the original, and while the game is a good deal longer and has more mandatory locations, it still doesn’t really have anything that could be called a defined plot, so much as just going through towns and dungeons for whatever plot item will let you into the next area. It does have the “twist” of Malroth ending up as the final boss instead of Hargon, but Malroth’s existence is only mentioned offhandedly in the opening before said event, so it’s ultimately just another thing that’s hard to appreciate past the era the game first came out. There’s really not much more to say, so let’s just move on.

Gameplay: The gameplay of Dragon Quest II is very similar to its predecessor. You go out onto the world map, grinding for EXP and gold, going between towns and traversing dungeons as needed. The big toss up is the party system. Instead of only having one party member, you gain a total of three early in the game: the prince of Middenhall, who I shall refer to as the Hero, the prince of Cannock, who shall be referred to as the Prince, and the princess of Moonbrooke, who shall be referred to as the Princess. Each character has different attributes; the Hero has access to every piece of the equipment in the game, with the best equipment in the game being exclusive to him, such as the Thunderbolt Blade and Erdrick’s equipment. He also has the best physical stats, such as HP and strength, and is in general an extremely effective physical attacker and tank, with the trade off of not having any access to magic, being the only hero in the series with this drawback. The Prince is a generalist, with a variety of magic, mostly supportive, and being capable of equipping most of the equipment in the game, making him an effective support character in each role. Lastly, the Princess has terrible physical stats, and has access to the least equipment, but learns much more potent spells, in particular having access to the best healing and attack spells in the game. It’s basic, but an effective change up from the first game.

To compensate for having more party members, enemies are now capable of appearing in groups, with certain formations resulting in as many as 7 enemies in one battle, though only specific types of enemies can achieve this, as bigger and tougher enemies seem to occupy more slots. Enemies also have access to a wider variety of magic and abilities, including being capable of summoning reinforcements mid battle. Status effects, such as poison, are more prominent, and with spells to cure them being among the new additions, along with defense buffs and debuffs, encounters have become a lot more tactical, with you often having to weigh your options to get through effectively. It makes the very prevalent grinding much more interesting, if much more difficult, and difficult is the word of the day, as this game is infamously brutal. Dungeons are much more prevalent, and much more complex, with the layout of some of them reaching spiteful levels of confusing. The limited inventory slots, previously a minor deal, since you could stack most of the important items available, quickly turn into a complicated juggling game, as item stacking has been removed, and key items are much more numerous, limiting the amount of healing you can carry around rather severely. Enemies show up in large groups so frequently that trying to take them out without group wide magic usually gets you smacked around a good deal, and tougher than average enemies will gladly show up in groups as well. The game is even less linear than the original past a point, which can easily lead you to areas you’re in no way supposed to access so early, and worst of all, the game is just plain unbalanced thanks to the rushed development, with the endgame land of Rhone containing enemies terrifyingly, and jarringly, powerful compared to even the dungeon before, being capable of demolishing you with little effort if you aren’t prepared. While the difficulty is more balanced in versions past the NES, with the Prince being given better stats and being able to equip better weapons, after being infamously weak and only being able to use a few weak, early game weapons in the NES version, to attack and the defense affecting spells having more of an effect, in addition to the rebalanced EXP and gold drops that were also in the original. You also have access to the bank, which allows you to store gold and items, and while its use in the first game is questionable, it becomes a lifesaver in this, simplifying the inventory management puzzle the game would be otherwise. It also makes a small, but important change to the final boss, namely removing the ability for it to use Fullheal, which, in the NES version, more or less made defeating it entirely luck based. Despite all this, however, Dragon Quest II is still a grueling experience, and the difficulty is certainly one of the big reasons why Dragon Quest II is obscure compared to other games in the series.

As for other new features and improvements, helmets have been added as an equipment option, though they’re very underutilized, with only 3 being available in the game, 2 of them exclusive to the Hero. Cursed equipment has been expanded past the few accessories in the original that only existed to inconvenience you. Here, they confer the biggest stat bonuses out of all the equipment in the game, on paper, but carry the risking of occasionally paralyzing the user in battle. Enemies are now capable of dropping items, from basic items like herbs, to equipment that could be sold for a decent amount, or even save you having to purchase them in the future, to items that can’t even be found elsewhere, such as the aforementioned cursed equipment, the infamous mad cap, the only helmet the Prince and Princess can equip, which cuts the amount MP needed to cast spells, and the dragon potion, which allows you to save your game anywhere you wish. Speaking of which, instead of only being able to save at the starting castle, many other towns and castles allow you to save your game, not only saving you a significant trek to Middenhall Castle, but allowing you to warp back to them with the Evac spell, which can save a lot of travel time. Most notably, the world map is much larger than the original game, including several different continents and smaller islands, accessible via a boat acquired fairly early in the game, marking the first appearance of transportation in the series. Alefgard is even visitable in a cool instance of continuity, though unfortunately, it’s quite underwhelming, as it is much, much smaller than in the first game, and only four locations that can be visited, with the only significant ones being Tantegel, which has fused with the town of Breconnary, and the remains of Charlock Castle, inhabited by the grandson of the Dragonlord, who, instead of battling the party, offers critical advice instead, in a fairly cool twist for the time.

While the game is certainly bigger and longer than the first game, most of it consists of just sailing around the overly large seas, with most of the locations being visitable as soon as you get the ship, barring the strength of the encounters. While it does give the game a much more open feel, most of what you do is just desperately scrounging for key items, many of which only have use towards the end of the game, and are often found in small, obscure locations. There’s little sense of progression, and very few dungeons manage to feel memorable or significant in any way, not helped the inexplicable lack of any bosses outside of the final dungeon. Sure, there’s a few scripted encounters, but only with enemies that are common within the area, or otherwise nowhere near dangerous enough to justifiably call bosses. While there are a few “quests” you have to do to progress at points, they’re all very short and simple, consisting of things like fighting a rather unthreatening enemy in an arena for the amusement of a king, or traversing a dungeon to grab the Wind Mantle, allowing you to cross to a different part of the continent, with said item never being used again afterwards. This all combines to make most of the game oddly dull, in my opinion, with the difficulty pretty much being the only thing that makes it stand out. As mentioned above, though, the endgame absolutely makes its mark, with the maddeningly confusing Road to Rhone being one of the most infamous dungeons in JRPGs, and the final dungeon, while being extremely simple to navigate, makes up for the lack of bosses elsewhere by having five of them spread out across it. Overall, while Dragon Quest II’s gameplay is technically much more refined than Dragon Quest I, it’s not necessarily much more enjoyable, and most of the time simply dances between repetitive and frustrating.

Graphics: The visuals of Dragon Quest II are, sensibly, about equal to the first game. The character designs do shine through a bit better with the party, and the battle sprites are once again great. Similarly to Final Fantasy II, though, the game does contain some of the weirder enemies to be in the series, such as baboons, giant Venus flytraps, and flying Medusa heads, though at the least, it introduced bubble slimes and liquid metal slimes. It also includes a few neat effects like parallax scrolling in dungeons that take place in high towers.

Music: Once again, the soundtrack is absolutely great, with the highlights being the upbeat town theme, the calm castle theme, the intimidating final boss theme, and especially the world map themes, of which there are two, the melancholic A Lonely Youth, for the earliest part of the games, before you acquire your full party, and the extremely cheerful Traveling With Friends, for once you’ve assembled your party. Even if you have no interest in playing the games, the soundtracks are definitely worth a listen. Conclusion: Overall, I would have to give Dragon Quest I&II a pretty firm not recommended. While they’re not completely unenjoyable, and can be a decent time if you enjoy older RPGs, or are curious about the roots of Dragon Quest, Dragon Quest III and IV are much better options in both regards, not to mention others like Final Fantasy I and III, and the original Mother, as far as NES RPGs go. Still, I’d be a liar if I said I didn’t have fun with them both, in varying amounts, and the remakes certainly make them much easier to digest. Either way, that’s about enough for now. Till next time. -Scout

#dragon quest #SNES #JRPG #square enix #game review #long post

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lunabear171015 · 4 years

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Akatsuki no Yona Prophecy Speculation

The prophecy foretells the future of the Kouka Kingdom and its princess, Yona. It’s God’s will. This is conveyed by Ik-Soo when Yona visits him after she and Hak are chased out from the Hiryuu Castle (ch. 13).

’’Darkness has fallen upon the land, The blood of the dragons will revive once again, And the ancient pact will be kept, When the four dragons are gathered, the sword and shield which will protect the king shall awaken And the red dragon shall restore the dawn at last.’’

So I have my own theory about what the prophecy states.

Dissecting the prophecy:

’’Darkness has fallen upon the land’’ The darkness could represent feelings such as anger, hatred, desperation and the mistrust in the human soul. This darkness could threaten the entire land, not only Kouka.

’’The blood of the dragons will revive once again’’ The dragons’ blood will react when they meet Yona, their master (except Zeno because he is the original Ouryuu who served Hiryuu). In their minds, they will hear the dragon’s voice telling them the pact that they must keep.

’’And the ancient pact will be kept’’ The ancient pact is about protecting king Hiryuu. Yona is Hiryuu’s reincarnation, so the dragons will protect, cherish, and never betray her for as long as they live.

’’When the four dragons are gathered, the sword and shield which will protect the king shall awaken’’ I strongly believe Soo-Won is the “king” in the prophecy. I do believe Hak will be the one who’ll protect Soo-Won, being badly hurt, in the final battle with Kai. It would show Hak’s moved on and forgiven Soo-Won. It would be a really nice irony that he is the one who wanted to kill him but ended up saving him. That’s why I think Hak will be the shield. The priest told that the shield (and the sword) would need time before appearing (maybe the time that Hak needs to forgive Soo-Won). As for the sword, I have several theories: The sword and the shield could be the same person: Hak. The sword could be someone related to Soo-Won. The sword could be a sword. In the first pages of the manga, Yona appears with long hair (possibly symbolising that a lot of time has passed), holding a sword that hasn’t made an appearance in the story yet.

’’And the red dragon shall restore the dawn at last’’ Yona could be the red dragon the prophecy refers to. She’s the heroine of this story, then she has to have a vital role in the final battle against Kai. Perhaps she’s the one who’ll restore the dawn at last by stopping the war.

’’The dawn’’ Yona was born at dawn (remember the scene when Zeno went to meet small Kija and acknowledged Hiryuu’s incarnation/the day the red dragon was born unto the Earth again). What if the red dragon appears at dawn? I wonder if Yona will be join the heavens as the red dragon god again. It would make a lot of sense, but it would be a sad ending, like Angelique (Neo Angelique Abyss) becoming the Prophesied Queen and forced to be alone in the Holy Land in order to protect Arcadia from far away. I don’t think Kusanagi gives us a sad ending, but the option exists. What if once the final battle is over the original dragons descend from the heavens to take their powers back at dawn? Hence my theory that all dragon warriors will lose their powers at the end of the story and become normal humans. The bloodline will end and they’ll age well because Hiryuu’s reincarnation appeared (Yona) and she stopped the cycle. The gods knew the dragons would be needed and darkness would come so they continued the cycle until now. But they are the last generation of dragon warriors. Sounds good to me!

#akatsuki no yona #yona of the dawn #kusanagi mizuho #manga #spoilers #akatsuki no yona spoilers #yona of the dawn spoilers #my thoughts #my theories #prophecy #long post

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tcookies · 4 years

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AnY Ch. 189 thoughts

Ok, so now we know Soo-won is the direct descendant of Hiryuu (and yes, there’ve been other descendants), but this also stresses the question as to why is Yona the reincarnation of Hiryuu? Why was Hiryuu reincarnated at all? Why this moment in time? What is the purpose of Hiryuu being reincarnated after thousands of years? Why is Yona, of all people, the reincarnation when she’s not even a blood relative of Hiryuu?

And even though the Crimson Illness is an affliction for specifically those of Hiryuu’s blood, I believe Yona is still the true Crimson King considering the Dragon Warriors (including the ghost Seiryuu who had possessed Shin-ah) had a reaction/initiation only towards Yona upon meeting her. When her life was in mortal danger, the powers of the dragons manifested in a rare, supernatural occurrence to protect her. She was born under a red star that had attracted the attention of the other dragon warriors that night. Blah blah blah, the evidence points to Yona being the true Hiryuu. This would mean that even though Soo-won has Hiryuu’s blood, he holds no authority over the dragon warriors. The dragon warriors were sworn to protect Hiryuu only--not Hiryuu’s bloodline.

King Hiryuu’s legacy involves him making Kouka a better place, but we saw in Zeno’s flashback that there was still plenty of strife and conflict shortly after Hiryuu’s passing. So it seems that whatever peace that’d been achieved didn’t last long OR was not entirely achieved at all. So I’m dying to know what is the reason behind Yona being Hiryuu’s reincarnation? Is she to bring peace back to the land and make Kouka better again like Hiryuu had done (or at least aimed to do)? And what would happen at the end of it all? If Soo-Won is to inevitably die from the Crimson Illness, then wouldn’t Yona have to reclaim the throne even though the crown isn’t what she wants? Although, I don’t think Yona would shy away from taking the throne if she knows it’d be in Kouka’s best interests (in the event Soo-Won does die) and she has no choice. With current Yona, I would argue that she is not in a position to lead a kingdom even though she has certainly developed and learned much.

Also, if the Crimson Illness afflicts exclusively Hiryuu’s bloodline, and it began with Hiryuu... how did this illness come to be? It’s clearly no regular disease. Even though Hiryuu was a dragon that became a mortal human, his blood has to be special enough that his sole bloodline ended up being cursed with this illness. Why specifically Hiryuu’s blood when he’s supposed to be a normal human with no powers whatsoever?

Regarding Yona’s mother, was Kashi possibly a seer? On the night of Yona’s birth, she mentioned to Iguni that Yona had been born with the power of the gods (the guardianship of the 4 dragons). How did she know this? Or is it just because of Yona’s red hair that Kashi thought “oh yep, she’s got Hiryuu’s red hair so she’s definitely the one”? But if she indeed knew something (and King Il also knew of Yona’s reincarnation thing), could it be connected to her death? Kashi had told Yona that “no matter what happens, you will never be alone” so she somehow had an idea of what the future would be. I don’t believe Ik-Soo had told Kashi of this because he and his master had already been banished from the castle by then.

Speaking of Ik-Soo, I was looking at the prophecy again:

"Darkness has fallen upon the land. The blood of the dragons will revive once again, and the ancient pact will be kept. When the four dragons are gathered, the sword and shield which will protect the king shall awaken, and the Red Dragon shall restore the dawn at last."

The last 2 lines mention the “king” and the “Red Dragon” but, for me, the way I see it is that the “king” and the “Red Dragon” are two separate beings. What if the king and the Red Dragon are not one and the same person? Would Soo-won be the “king” and Yona the “Red Dragon”? After all, Soo-won has been considered the King of Kouka for, well, nearly the entire story already, and we know Yona is the spiritual reincarnation of Hiryuu. What I wonder is if she is the reincarnation of the Red Dragon Hiryuu (which could make her the Red Dragon of the prophecy), or is she the reincarnation of human Hiryuu.... or it doesn’t matter at all? We still don’t know who the “shield” and “sword” are since Ik-Soo said they need more time to appear but his prophecy explicitly says the “sword” and “shield” “shall awaken”. Meanwhile, it doesn’t say anything about the “king” or the “Red Dragon” needing to awaken or anything like that. So it sounds like we already have the King and the Red Dragon which points to Yona and Soo-won. But who has which role? As I said, I personally think Soo-won is the “king” and Yona the “Red Dragon” even though Yona is also considered the Crimson King since she’s Hiryuu’s reincarnation. The prophecy says it’s the Red Dragon who will restore the dawn; NOT the king. We know the sword and shield protect the King, but as I suggested earlier, the King and the Dragon may not even be the same person. If Soo-won is the “king”, then the “sword” and “shield” would be serving him and not Yona as the gang assumed. We know the dragons serve Yona because the prophecy explicitly said the “ancient pact” (the dragon warriors’ oath to protect Hiryuu) would be kept. But just because the 4 dragons are gathered, doesn’t mean the sword and shield would be joining them. The sword and shield protect the King; they do not protect the Dragon.

We also don’t know what the role of the King is supposed to be. The “king” is the only being in the prophecy whose role is not explained. The prophecy explains the role of the dragons (protect Hiryuu), the role of the sword & shield (protect the King), and the role of the Red Dragon (restore the dawn), but the prophecy never explains the King’s role. Interesting.... If Yona is the Red Dragon who restores the dawn, then it sounds like she will be the true MVP out of everyone else at the end. This isn’t surprising considering Yona is the story’s heroine so it’d make sense for her to be the one to “”save the day”” when it matters most.

With all that being said, this revelation makes the relationship between Soo-won and Yona even more interesting because, technically, Yona is (spiritually) Soo-won’s ancestor and Soo-Won is her last living child. Perhaps that’s why Soo-won’s pain was reduced when Yona held him in comfort. At the same time, it’s sad because Soo-won’s dream/memory showed King Il foretelling that Yona, as the true king, would be the one to deliver Soo-won’s death. So she’d technically be killing her descendant...

#any #akatsuki no yona #189 #the crimson dragon king #yona of the dawn #soo-won

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satoshi-mochida · 4 years

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Square Enix has released new information and screenshots of Trials of Mana, its upcoming remake of the 1995-released Seiken Densetsu 3, including an introduction to the game’s characters, classes, and more.

Get the details below.

[Under a readmore due to length]

■ Story

When the world was shrouded in darkness, the Goddess of Mana drew forth the Sword of Mana to smite the eight Benevodons, monsters of destruction.

She sealed the horrors inside the eight Mana Stones, bringing the realm back from the brink.

Weakened from rebuilding the world, the Goddess changed herself into a tree and fell into a deep sleep for many years.

However, the forces of evil soon sought to free the Benevodons to gain control of the world.

They started a terrible war to further their plot and destabilize the kingdoms.

Peace was at an end. Mana itself began to disappear from the world and the Mana Tree started to wither…

■ Legendary Creatures

In the vast world of Trials of Mana, the heroes must travel the endless sea and cross towering mountains to make their way to their next destination. There are friends somewhere in this world that can help you with this journey difficult by foot alone.

Flammie

Known as the Winged Defender, Flammie is the emissary of the Goddess of Mana, said to protect the mountains and sky. The young dragon can be summoned by the Flammie Drum to fly the party around the map.

Vuscav

The party first met this mysterious ruler of the seas on Beuca Island. Though he’s usually wary of people, he’s surprisingly helpful.

■ Spirits

Spirits are beings that will you will encounter on your journey and lend you their power. Each of the eight spirits has different traits, powers, and a way of speaking.

Faerie

A spiritual seed of the Tree of Mana.

Faerie ventures out of the sanctuary to warn Wendel’s Priest of Light of the fading power of the Mana Tree. However, she collapses on the way, too weak to complete her journey alone. The hero finds her and they join forces.

Spirits

Earth: Gnome – A spirit that possesses the power of earth and can manipulate large rocks. Its beard and green, pointy hat are its trademarks.

Water: Undine – A spirit that possesses the power of water and can make it hail by gathering up cold air. A sentimental spirit, she cannot overlook a person in trouble.

Fire: Salamander – A spirit that possesses the power of fire and wields a fiery spear, attacking with scorching fire and lava. It is a passionate spirit with a burning heart.

Wind: Jinn – A spirit of that possesses the power of wind and can control the wind, clouds, and thunder. Its large ears can hear messages carried by the wind.

Moon: Luna – A spirit that has the power to cast a mysterious light and lead peoples’ hearts astray. It is surrounded by four feather-esque wings covered in light.

Wood: Dryad – A spirit that rules over the trees and wields strong mana power. She has lushly green, leaf-like hair.

Light: Wisp – A spirit with the power to cast away evil with its dazzling light. It has deep, theoretical knowledge of light.

Shadow: Shade – A spirit that possesses the power of darkness, which can manipulate shadows and swallow up everything. It has large, black wings and a giant eyeball.

■ Classes

Another way to strengthen your characters besides leveling up is switching classes. New classes allow the characters to learn new class strikes and magic spells. When changing class, you can pick either the “Light” or “Dark” path depending on how you want to develop the character’s abilities.

The Light and Dark classes are proficient in different abilities and attacks. With a Light class, Duran can learn healing magic and equip a shield, making him a balanced fighter. With a Dark class, Duran gains lots of attack power and can be unstoppably strong if properly buffed.

■ Heroes and their Classes

Duran

Young swordsman from the Kingdom of Valsena.

Duran is a proud young soldier from Valsena, Kingdom of the Plains. Though he comes across as hot-headed and ready for a fight, the whole kingdom acknowledges his skill with a blade. Duran has nothing but love for his kingdom and respect for the Hero King, a good friend of his departed father, Loki the Golden Knight.

—Class 01 – Warrior

—Class 02 – Light: Knight

A protector class. Knights are proficient at both attack and defense. They can use shields, weapons, and healing magic to defend their allies.

—Class 02 – Dark: Gladiator

A class with high attack. Gladiators can’t use shields, but they possess great power. They can use fire, water, earth, and wind saber magic to deal lots of damage to their foes.

—Class 03 – Light: Liege

A balanced fighting class with good attack and defense. Lieges can also use healing magic to protect their allies and increase the party’s survival rate.

—Class 03 – Light: Paladin

A stamina-based, defensive class. Paladins can learn saber magic to imbue their allies’ attacks with the light element. They’re good for support.

—Class 03 – Dark: Duelist

One of the most powerful fighting classes, Duelists learn dark saber magic in addition to having a high attack stat.

—Class 03 – Dark: Edelfrei

Edelfrei are great at attacking and can learn earth, water, fire, and wind saber magic. They excel at fighting techniques, able to strike at enemy weaknesses.

Angela

Rebellious Princess of Altena, Kingdom of Magicians.

Angela is the only daughter of the True Queen of Altena, the snow-covered kingdom of magicians. Because Angela’s mother hardly spent any time with her as a child, the princess was prone to act out to get attention, wearing gaudy clothes and playing pranks on people in the castle. Despite this, her love for her mother runs deep. Angela never got the hang of casting magic spells, a problem that plagues her to this day.

—Class 01 – Magician

—Class 02 – Light: Sorceress

A class with a variety of spells. Sorceresses can use different types of elemental magic to attack their enemy’s weakness. They can also take a hit with their high endurance.

—Class 02 – Dark: Mysticist

A hard-hitting magic class. Mysticists deal a lot of damage thanks to their high intellect stat. They are proficient with dark spells and good at saving MP.

—Class 03 – Light: Archmage

Archmages can use the elemental powers at their disposal for a variety of powerful attacks. They also know a powerful non-elemental spell called “Glitter Dust.”

—Class 03 – Light: Grand Diviner

Grand Diviners can cast a powerful “Doppelganger” spell to split themselves and attack. They can cause lots of damage to enemies.

—Class 03 – Dark: Magus

Magi are a hard hitting class. They can cause massive damage with their wide array of magic attacks. One of their most potent attacks is “Ancient Curse.”

—Class 03 – Dark: Rune Seer

Rune Seers can cause status effects to petrify, freeze, or change their enemies in battle. They also know powerful magic that can destroy an enemy instantly.

Kevin

Son of the king of the Ferolian beastmen.

Kevin is heir to the throne of Ferolia. His father is the king of the beastmen, but his missing mother was a human woman. Kevin’s father raised him to be a fighting machine, which affected his social skills. He is unused to conversing with humans, which can make him hard to understand at times. The ice around the young boy’s heart only began to melt after making friends with Karl the wolf pup.

—Class 01 – Grappler

—Class 02 – Light: Monk

A balanced warrior class. Good at both healing magic and fighting, Monks can support both themselves and their allies during battle.

—Class 02 – Dark: Brawler

A class that relies on brute strength. They do a lot of damage and are good with many weapons when they go forth in battle.

—Class 03 – Light: Divine Fist

Divine Fists can use their class strikes in quick succession to do lots of damage. They can also learn magic spells for recovery and more.

—Class 03 – Light: Warrior Monk

Warrior Monks can absorb MP from enemies when they attack. They also learn wood saber magic. They have high attack, defense, and healing powers for a balanced warrior class.

—Class 03 – Dark: Fatal Fist

A powerhouse warrior class, Fatal Fists are an unbeatable attack class. They can use their class strike “Seiryu Strike” and cause lots of damage in the area of effect.

—Class 03 – Dark: Enlightened

Enlighteneds can boost their own HP by stealing that of their enemies. They are perfect as a front line fighter with their high attack power and moon saber magic.

Charlotte

Half-elf young maiden of Holy City Wendel.

Charlotte is the granddaughter of Wendel’s Priest of Light. She looks much younger than she is thanks to the elfin blood in her veins. Perhaps because of this, she has always been coddled by the people who raised her in the temple. Charlotte’s bright and outgoing personality can be both an asset and a hindrance. Though curious, she’s superstitious and a bit of a scaredy-cat.

—Class 01 – Cleric

—Class 02 – Light: Priestess

A supportive healing class. Priestesses have a high spirit stat that increases their healing powers. They can use fire, water, earth, and wind saber magic to help their allies with more than just recovery magic.

—Class 02 – Dark: Enchantress

A class for a fighting healer. In addition to healing, Enchantresses can learn attack magic. They can weaken their enemies before taking them down.

—Class 03: – Light: High Cleric

A super support class. High Clerics can learn many kinds of healing and recovery magic to save their allies.

—Class 03: – Light: Sage

Sages are a strong support class that can get rid of status effects and use saber magic on the whole party.

—Class 03: – Dark: Necromancer

A balanced class, Necromancers know powerful summoning magic for undead monsters. They can learn “Dark Curse” to lower an enemy’s stats.

—Class 03: – Dark: Warlock

A class that is good at weakening magic, Warlocks can also attack their enemies with the strong “Fetid Breath” spell.

Hawkeye

Noble thief of the Nevarland thief guild.

Hawkeye hails from the desert fortress of Nevarl, home to a guild of noble thieves. He was raised as the orphaned ward of Flamekhan, the leader, together with Flamekhan’s own children, Eagle and Jessica. Hawkeye comes across as a laid-back and charming young man, making it hard to tell when he’s being serious. But at his core, Hawkeye is a fiercely loyal friend. Nothing gets past his honed senses and quick wit.

—Class 01 – Thief

—Class 02 – Light: Ranger

A cunningly versatile class. Rangers can use magic that causes status effects, as well as attack enemies with traps. They befuddle their foes with tricky moves.

—Class 02 – Dark: Ninja

A technique-based, debuffing class. Ninjas use ninja moves and other special attacks that hinder their enemies. They excel at weakening their foes.

—Class 03 – Light: Nomad

Nomads can learn a wide variety of support magic to help their party come out on top in battle.

—Class 03 – Light: Rogue

Rogues can learn powerful trap attacks. Their specialties are versatile, meaning they can attack enemies at any range.

—Class 03 – Dark: Ninja Master

As the name suggests, Ninja Masters have advanced ninja moves. They can cause damage in an area to turn the tide of battle.

—Class 03 – Dark: Nightblade

Nightblades can learn “Weapon Smack,” as well as “Needle Shower” that can silence enemies and nullify their attacks. Their brilliant attacks can blow away the enemy.

Riesz

Highborn captain of Laurent’s Amazon Guard.

Riesz is the young princess of the mountainous kingdom of Laurent and captain of the renowned Amazon guard. She has a will of iron and down-to-earth manner. Though some might call her stubborn, Riesz is always there to lend a hand to those who need it. She lost her mother as a child and since then has tried to help raise her little brother Elliot. Her topmost priorities are her father, brother, and kingdom.

—Class 01 – Amazon

—Class 02 – Light: Valkyrie

A strengthening support class. Valkyries can boost all stats to help their allies. They help cover the party’s weaknesses by bolstering their strengths.

—Class 02 – Dark: Rune Maiden

A debuffing support class. Rune Maidens can weaken an enemy and make it easier for the party to win.

—Class 03 – Light: Vanadis

A support class with great stamina, Vanadis are a solid presence in the party. They can learn the summoning spell “Freya.”

—Class 03 – Light: Starlancer

Starlancers is a balanced class that can support the party by strengthening them in battle. They can learn magic to boost stats and have their own fair share of stamina.

—Class 03 – Dark: Dragon Master

Dragon Masters can learn to decrease an enemy’s stats and summon “Jormungandr” to deal lots of damage and sometimes poison their opponent.

—Class 03 – Dark: Fenrir Knight

Fenrir Knights can impede enemies by decreasing their stats. They can lead their party to victory.

■ Villains

Crimson Wizard

A talented magician with untold dark power.

As the True Queen’s right-hand man, the Crimson Wizard orders the forces of Altena, the Kingdom of Magicians, to attack Valsena. He seeks to release the energy of the Mana Stones for an unknown, wicked purpose.

Goremand

A demonic devourer of human souls.

Goremand dresses in a jester’s tunic and wields a twisted scythe. He may seem playful, but he is no fool. After unexpectedly appearing in Kevin’s home, the kingdom of Ferolia, Goremand gains favor with the king and pushes the beastmen to invade Wendel.

Belladonna

Faithful servant of his Dark Majesty.

Belladonna’s monstrous beauty and enticing countenance bewitched Flamekhan, the leader of the Nevarlan thieves’ guild. With the forces of Nevarl at her command, Belladonna sets out to claim Riesz’s homeland of Laurent for the sake of her dark kingdom.

■ New Feature: Prologue Play

When one of the heroes meets a new friend, you can play the prologue for the character you just meet and retrace their past. It is a system designed to more deeply convey each character’s resolve for going on their journey. Prologue experiences are optional, meaning they can be skipped if you prefer not to play it.

—By choosing to experience a character’s prologue, you can play the past story of the character you met.

—If you choose not to experience a character’s prologue, you can watch the prologue movie for the character you met.

■ Map Mechanics

There are various challenges to overcome in dungeons and on the field. If you are unable to successfully solve these, you will not be able to move forward…

—By moving the pedestal, the direction of the wind blowing at you will change. Skillfully alter the wind’s course to move forward to your destination.

—Moving across locations where fire erupts and lava flows can deal damage to your party. The improved graphics of the remake makes these sorts of field mechanics easier to notice.

■ More Screenshots and Artwork

Trials of Mana is due out worldwide for PlayStation 4, Switch, and PC via Steam worldwide on April 24, 2020.

View the screenshots at the gallery.

#Trials of Mana #Seiken Densetsu 3 #Seiken Densetsu #Mana Series #Square Enix #Gematsu

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reuska · 6 years

Text

Reuska’s FEH Headcanon Time No.2: Geir (Book II Finale edition)

Gathering energy to draw something bigger, let me explain why I hyped so much about the final chapter and throw another piece of my HC at you.

First, let’s sum up some info about Geir.

Geir of Dufansdarl is an OC of mine.

He is the original Summoner from approx 2 millenia ago.

Askran nobility, born to a couple of Askr and Embla bloodlines (but neither of his parents was the main royal line).

This union happened to bless him with a unique skill - to travel between worlds at will (aka open and close gates - combo of Askran and Emblan abilities). His special ability had one unparalleled bonus: he could actually travel to the mythical, unreachable “magicless” realm, Earth.

Scholar, blue mage, smart jerk. Arrogant, selfish, pleasure-hunting womanizer.

He sworn his loyalty to Askran king but when called for help during an emergency, he betrays his oath - as he takes his time to come (= Loki aka Lady Mischief came to seduce him to prevent him from going and he gives his bed priority). His absence has terrible consequences which result in the king’s death and the curse of Embla bloodline. (Details to be shaped)

The queen performs a rite to call Askr’s wrath on Geir. The dragon curses Geir and turns him into Breidablik, puts him to sleep in a shrine until the right time comes for him to undo his mistakes. He also seals Geir’s castle Dufansdarl near the border with Embla and generally erases all but vague knowledge of his existence. He keeps Geir’s cape in the shrine and through prophets creates a myth of the Summoner who would come in the time of need.

The curse re-shaped Geir’s abilities (since they came from an original gift of the dragons, Askr could manipulate them at his will). When Geir is awoken at the beginning of FEH story, his mind travels to Earth and he handpicks Reuska because she can use a gun, she has decent strategic mind and at the same time appears as a chicken Geir would be easily able to control.

Reuska is vulnerable in many ways but she certainly isn’t the type to get herself manipulated. Quite the opposite. Geir finds himself in a mind connection and constant presence of someone he collides with in pretty much everything. The two getting along is a long journey but it has invaluable moral impact on Geir.

He IS feeling guilty for his failure back in his time. At first he is in a state of denial and just wants Reuska to get the job done asap to set him free. He refuses to communicate with anyone else and tries to avoid any thoughts on why. But as the Order grows on him, especially the royal siblings who inherited the burden of his betrayal, he is less and less reluctant to admit his errors, to himself at least. He begins to change.

But he keeps his identity to himself - he would probably never tell anyone. Reuska has to figure out his identity herself and he forces her to promise she wouldn’t tell anyone. Alfonse eventually figures out Breidablik has a conscience due to him overhearing Reuska “talking to herself” several times. Upon him asking, Geir allows Reuska to introduce him but he doesn’t speak to Alfonse himself (guilt). And he never tells them his backstory.

Now to the point.

Geir functionates thanks to Reuska’s energy (that’s how Askr set things up anyway). They have no idea about this for months because he uses only little of it as he’s just “mental energy”. He doesn’t move, he doesn’t digest, nothing - he just thinks and “scans” the sorroundings in approx 30m diameter. Reuska does suffer from light chronic weariness but they both always connect it with her not being used to this new lifestyle.

Eventually Gunnthrá starts visiting Reuska’s dreams. She reaches for the part of Reuska’s mind where Geir resides - he actually protects Reuska from having nightmares, she would certainly have them otherwise. Geir can’t stop Gunnthrá even though he tries (he has no idea who she is). But seeing her reflection and listening to her voice, he platonically falls in love with her. It is a different emotion than he ever felt for a woman, genuine affection instead of lust which was his drive back in his time.

When Surtr kills Gunnthrá (the first time they physically encounter her), Geir gets furious (a mix of pain, hatred and all the other emotions connected with the terrible event). Reuska is experiencing her own share of strong negative emotions and the two synchronize through these in a way they haven’t before. Geir gets an access to more of Reuska’s energy and uses it to (sort of) materialize into a weird, translucent, glowing humanoid object that manages to buy the group some time so they can retreat. Geir can’t get hurt in this state but his consumption of Reuska’s energy multiplies several times so he can keep it up only as long as she has enough energy to fuel him. Which is not long. Any hit he takes eqeals to even more energy taken from her.

This form fades out soon enough for Reuska to not faint but it still leaves her exhausted, barely able to move. From that event on, Geir uses this ability to shield Reuska from physical danger he can detect (he can’t detect long distance shots as the shooter is far from his “scanning” range - and magic just goes through him) which is very relieving to anyone in the Order as it gives her an extra protection. However, everyone must adjust to the drawback - which is exhausted and even more vulnerable Reuska afterwards. She usually falls asleep within minutes. One of her guard trio has to get her away asap, on horseback usually, where she sleeps in front of them.

So what happens in the finale?

Alfonse goes to face Surtr. Surtr can be killed at the time but he remains a mountain of muscle fueled by the Flames of Múspel. He’s a terryfying foe, much much larger than Al. But it’s the Flames that are a real problem. Combined with Surtr’s hits, they put immense heat + force load on Fólkvangr, a load the sword can’t take and it starts to crack.

Another hit would shatter it and kill Al but Geir prevents it. He uses his “immortal object” ability but instead of materializing, he jumps at Fólkvangr and covers it with a thin layer to keep its sharpness. Plus he still carries the Nífl blessing which dulls the Flames. Fólkvangr appears to glow with a blue light. The sword is shielded from damage, which, however, means the whole load shifts to Reuska. So Al and Geir have only tens of seconds to finish Surtr off.

Reuska tries her best to hold on as long as possible but Surtr’s first hit literally sends her down to her knees. She starts sweating immediately, breathes heavily and her pulse jumps up at the verge of heart attack. She manages to force the connection to stay up longer than usual which is enough for Al to finish the job. But she faints right after and sleeps for four days. She wakes up again on a cart they prepared for her transportation, already back in Askr.

(I came up with the Folkvangr enforcement idea just like three days ago and I was trying to pick a proper situation for it to happen. I was tempted to go for the final battle against Surtr but the chapter just confirmed everything including Alfonse being most likely the one to take Surtr down. And no further fighting after his death so Reuska would be safe. All the pieces just came together perfectly ♥)

#fire emblem heroes #feh headcanon #summoner #fire emblem #reuska #geir of dufansdarl #summoner reuska #feh headcanon time #alfonse #Summoner reuska #Reuska #Geir of dufansdarl #Feh headcanon time #Feh headcanon

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lilcutieana · 6 years

Text

PANACEA~ 12 (ANGEL AU)

Word Count: 6.1k

Warning: angst, mentions of blood, gore, character death

Rating: 16+

Pairing: Bea x Jungkook, Taehyung x Y/N

Genre: Angst/ drama (happy ending)

Chapter one || Chapter two || Chapter three ||

Chapter Four ||Chapter Five ||Chapter six||

Chapter Seven || Chapter Eight || Chapter Nine ||

Chapter Ten || Chapter Eleven

Hair white and shiny as woven silk, decorated with intertwined branches of holly and olive: lips tinted red like a blossoming rose, revealing thorny teeth that shone like a pearl freshly harvested, tongue as red and juicy as a ripe tomato peeks out to lick the soft dewy rose petal like lips and cheeks pale as the first snow.

Sat upon the pinewood throne, decorated with intertwining branches of mistletoe forming a beautiful bow was the Faery Queene. She smiled secretly, her lips barely moving while a million thoughts played in her mind; a thousand and one ways to ensure her enemy bowed down before her. She was the Queen, and she will continue to be so, for millennia to come.

She had poisoned her people who went against her, including her own husband and most of the court. Humans were amusing; what they wouldn't do for a little spell of love, fame and eternal life in exchange for some iron and ammunition – deadly to the Fae kind. If only the child— an imitation of a true prince had been a good boy and stayed human like he was supposed to, but no, he had to learn of the Fae way of living and interfere.

If he agreed to overthrow the current king and be the puppet for her, ruling the land in her stead, she would spare his life. She had a lot of compassion and forgiveness for those who celebrated her, worshipped the very land she walked on. She would show him what a true queen is like. But… if he dares cross her, well… he surely won’t – if he knows what’s good for him.

Smirking, she lifted her cup of wine and waited for her trusted garden faery to enchant and bring the boy 'who outlived his life'. Garden faeries have natural seductive nature and their songs not only brought along spring to the world but mating cycles among humans and animals alike. Surely, this one human child will not escape the temptation.

Angels talked, and she knew just how to make them talk.

Taehyung. Interesting boy, he had an amulet from the Angel of death herself, preventing his soul from being targeted by anyone who wished him harm. But now that he willingly removed it, he would become the scapegoat and her ticket to having the only thorn in her path nipped. How amusing indeed.

Human relations makes you weak, and she was just going to have the most fun in centuries exploiting that. Oh, how amusing indeed, to make the angels cry and to make the Fae king bow before her. Oh, no, not king. Not just yet, he was just a Prince by birth.

Park Jimin, you have messed with the wrong Queen.

~*~

The four angels sat in a circle, huge backpacks laid at their feet filled to the brim with weapons of choice-- all made with pure iron-- with Jimin at its center. Unintentionally, yet it made sense as he was their top priority at the moment. Angels can't be killed but can be tortured and they were fine with that so long as their little Angel was okay, the Faery Prince.

Closing his eyes, with his hands placed on the Earth beneath, he murmured a song only he knew the words to, yet it made the baby hair behind everyone's neck to rise in attention. The wind picked up in speed, trees, and grass swaying along with it and their hair being whipped around. Shielding this eyes from the dust that the wind carried, the angels looked on in amazement and pride at how powerful and focused he was. Just as Jimin stopped singing and opened his eyes, the wind had all but stilled, the birds had resumed chirping and a familiar scent had filled the air. "He's here" Jimin whispered.

Raising his head, he turned around and smiled, "Hoseok. I believe you are well?" "I wouldn't have bothered coming if not, Little Prince." Bowing low, he smiled showing his sharp teeth and dropped it immediately-- a glare replacing the warmth in his eyes as he registered the company they had. The faeries despised the angels.

"You're doing a shit job at being discreet, I can smell the iron you have there." Pointing at the bags, he snarled. The skies started to turn darker as the clouds came gathering in-- thunder and lightning sparking up the skies and the Earth rumbled beneath their feet. It felt cold, too cold-- even their breath came out in white gasps like Dragon's breath. "You think I wish to harm the Prince? Nobody can harm him, not even the Queen. He is the chosen one from the ancient Gods, they would always protect him." Scoffing, he looked at Jimin with sad eyes, "But you want to kill me by summoning me here? What did I ever do to you to deserve this?" Breathing heavily, his eyes flashed and a bolt of lightning hit somewhere far in the distance, shaking the very land they stood upon.

"It's not for you. It's for safety while visiting the Fae lands. We intend to take the Queen down before she ends up destroying both Fae realm and the Human realm." Yoongi snapped from the right side of Jimin. The angels had surrounded him, lest the old Faery lose control over himself and do something rash.

"We need you to take us there hyung, without anyone else knowing," Jimin demanded, eyes flashing a bright gold momentarily, his ancient blood evident in its shine.

"Is that a royal command, my Prince?" The Fae asked with a little smile playing on his lips. The sun peeked out from beneath the dark cloud which had started to scatter and lose it's darkness bit by bit. Their skin gaining color again and the frosty temperature seemed to come back down to the pleasant warm autumn weather.

"Yes, before the end of the month it must be done. The Fae lands call for me, I accept my duties. This is a direct order from the crown Prince of the Seelie court." Jimin revealed without an ounce of hesitation in his voice, his eyes sharp and focused on the Fae minister of his father, the King of the Seelie court.

"Very well then", Hoseok nodded his head and turned to the angels with his hands clasped in glee. "You need to modify your facial features to look like Fae kind. Disguises are important after all" As soon as he said that, Y/N gasped in horror. She should have thought about that first. Of course, a disguise was of most importance. They were so focused on protecting Jimin, it had completely slipped their minds.

Holding onto the sword they all had hanging from a thin chain on their necks, they slowly transformed themselves to have elongated ears, sharper teeth, pointed nose and almond eyes. Their clothes previously made of leather and silk was now made purely out of plant silk and cotton. The Fae took pride in being closely knit with nature, and they made sure nothing looked out of the ordinary.

“Does this look okay?” Yoongi asked Hoseok with a frown on his face, inspecting his dark brown cotton shirt and khaki pants.

“Perfect. You’d pass away as a commoner just right.”

“And me?” Seokjin asked donning a white shirt open at the chest with frills running along the seams, smirking at all three of them. Jimin sighed and shook his head at the overconfident angel.

“I think you’d be one of them, eccentric kind. Sure to draw attention and a good distraction when we need one.” Hoseok smirked at his jab to the beautiful angel who rivaled his own beauty he was so proud of in his kingdom.

Soekjin was about to refute and defend himself, but a hand on his shoulder from Y/N stopped him from arguing further. Nodding his head he looked at the Fae and bowed. “Let us into the Unseelie court please. We have a Queen to meet.”

Raising his hand, Hoseok formed a circular gesture with his wrist that formed a small mirror like surface floating in the middle of the field they were standing on. As he stepped back, the mirror grew bigger and bigger, hovering in the air right where it was made, the surface highly reflective, yet blurred everything that could be seen on it.

"What on earth is that?" Exclaimed Jin, stepping back from where he stood with the backpack clutched tightly into his hands for defense.

"This is the portal, come let's get in." With a backward glance at the angels and a nod to Jimin, he walked forward with fast, determined steps and passed straight through the mirror.

"Did he just----" Seokjin sputtered pointing at the hovering portal. He was flabbergasted but mostly amazed. While he was used to using wormholes, this new portal was much cooler. Well, it looked cooler, he didn't know how it actually felt.

"Yes, yes he did." Y/N replied smiling excitedly. She was all about adventures, and this was exactly what she came to Earth for. Some excitement in her mundane schedule.

Holding onto Yoongi's hand and clasping his fingers tightly, Jimin dragged him by the hand towards the portal and touched the surface with his fingers. The surface of the mirror trembled like water and formed ripples.

Stepping back, he made an appreciative sound that all four angels echoed back. This time, instead of just touching, he followed Hoseok's example and just walked through it, disappearing into the mirror as if it were a door dragging a very uncooperative Yoongi behind him, who tried his best to protest by dragging his feet in the grass below while clutching onto the straps of his backpack. Yet, everyone knew he was only putting up a front. If there was anyone who wanted to get rid of the enemy, it would be Yoongi. He liked things simple and always worked hard to remove each and every obstacle from its root before it could become a weed.

Right after they disappeared, Seokjin stepped back, shaking his head he raised his hands in front of him. "No. I'm not going through--that-- that thing-- it eats people up! How can you be so sure it's not a trick? You know how tricky the seelie people are behind their civilized behavior ".

Why wouldn't anyone understand where he was coming through? Everyone trusted Jimin and that minister blindly. Jimin--- was understandable, they'd spent ten years together. But Hoseok? No way! He was sketchy from the get-go. He was the eldest for Christ's sake. Why'd no one believed him?

"Look, you're the Angel of death, you defy rules all of the time. You want to go? Fine! But not me. I'll be in a whole world of trouble if I followed you all down that mirror or rabbit hole or whatever. I hate this!"

"And here I thought you'd be bravest of us all. It's okay, an adult is needed with the kids. Go stay behind." Shrugging her shoulders, Y/N walked forward with her bag in her arms and slung it over her shoulder. Once she had her back to him completely, she let her smile slip. She knew, just ten seconds and he'd follow. The eldest Angel just had a penchant for throwing tantrums every now and then.

With every confident step forward that she took, his heart beat faster, thrumming like a hummingbird inside a cage made of bones. He was scared, he realized, but not for himself. He was scared for her. Once she crossed the boundary, there will be no coming back. He knew death will follow, but he knew her better-- she hated to be the cause of someone else's death. With no choice than to follow her, to support her, he took a deep breath and shook his hands, hoping it would help to shake off his nerves. Not that it ever worked, and it didn't this time either.

Grunting, he followed behind her and picked his own camping bag, lugging it over his shoulder as she stood mesmerized in front of the hovering mirror that reflected them-- yet they weren't recognizable enough. The reflection was distorted at best. Holding her hand and intertwining their fingers, he licked his dry lips and gulped. Tugging her forward he closed his eyes and walked until he felt his breath being taken away literally. It felt like he was underwater, even walking was difficult with how dense it had been.

One more step and he was able to breathe again. Taking huge gulps of air, he fell on his knees with a loud thud and soon Y/N collapsed behind him. Opening his eyes, he tried standing up, but the dizzy feeling hadn’t subsided yet and he fell again. Groaning, he looked above at the dark sky. Despite it being night time, the sky was clear and had millions of stars shining back at them. If only humans hadn’t cluttered their own realm, they could see this majestic view. Scrambling onto his feet he rushed towards her and was soon followed by Jimin and Yoongi opening her boots, rubbing her soles. She was unconscious and barely breathing. It was all his fault. He shouldn’t have suddenly dragged her along with him.

Looking around, he spotted a lot of plans growing around that had all colors of the rainbow and were huge in size. None of the plants looked like anything in the human realm or the heavens above. Looking at Hoseok, he gestured around him. “Know anything of help?”

Despite there being two moons that shone above brightly and huge flowers that bloomed with a sweet scent, all of them focused on the dark angel with onyx wings laid upon the dark green grass dotted with purple flowers.

“Of course I do, but it’s the little Prince who should help her. Don’t ask for favors you cannot return, Guardian of humans.” Pointing at Jimin, he smiled in encouragement.

Reciprocating his smile, Jimin got up and walked away from them. Half turning on his way, he hollered back, “I’ll fetch some herbs that’ll wake her right up!”

~*~

The dark red and brown themed room with wooden walls and polished wood flooring was now lit with little rose shaped candles that smelled faintly of oranges and cinnamon. The many shadows cast upon the walls by the tiny figurines placed in the room together formed some of the very grotesque and horrifying images to the already shaking human tied up and gagged on the four poster bed draped in red silk and white lace curtains from above forming a halo around him. Naked from the waist up, his skin was flushed and bared countless claw marks with dried blood on his skin like flower buds ready to bloom.

A woman with white hair that reflected the moonlight and shimmered in its presence, walked towards her bed dressed in all white, like a human bride on her wedding night, on which laid a human teen whose arms were tied up with twine dipped in venom that seeped through his cuts and mixed with his blood. As she stood at the edge of her own bed, the Human begged her with his eyes not to come any closer. His eyes had dark circles and lips chapped and a sickly blue. The poison had started to take effect on him, slowly disintegrating his blood and destroying his nerves until his stopped on its own. "Tell me child, have you had enough lashings?" Her soft voice crooned by his ear, licking it for good measure. "Are you ready to tell me where your friends are?"

Jerking away from her touch, he whimpered and drooled saliva through his mouth gagged with her lace scarf. Shaking his head, he begged again with teary eyes. "Oops. Seems like I misjudged your ability to speak, Taehyung." Dragging her elongated nails along his collarbones to his navel, she watched as he shivered and sucked in his stomach, making his ribs jut out. Smirking, she dragged her nails along his happy trail towards his pants when all of a sudden she stopped with a scowl on her face.

She hated being interrupted in her fun. This was truly funny how the one he wanted wouldn’t pay her any attention yet he denied the attention of any other female except the only angel who had gifted him with life instead of taking it. The irony wasn’t lost on her.

The rhythmic thudding of footsteps with a progressive staccato could be heard racing down the hall, stopping the Queen in her tracks. She had ordered one and all to specifically leave her be. She needed to know all there was to know about this boy who had managed to not just evade death but somehow had the Angel of death wrapped around his pinky too. She needed his secret and needed it fast.

While the garden Faery had failed in her mission to seduce him to the point of incoherence and bring him back to the land of Fae, he had willingly followed her here. Begged the faery even to take him to where his angel had gone leaving him behind. The poor sod had no clue what he was getting himself into. Had he known he’d walk into his own deathbed, perhaps he wouldn’t have chosen to come along.

Or maybe…that was his plan all along. If he couldn’t be with the angel of death in life, he shall be with her in his death. Smiling to herself she waited for whoever it was that dared to come into her chambers and intrude upon her fun times.

The door burst open revealing a bunch of leaves arranged like a silhouette of a woman. On closer inspection, she had all the facial features of a woman too- eyes, nose, lips- all made out of leaves of different shapes and shades.

"The Seelie Prince has come and he isn't alone, your highness" The moment she spoke up, she screwed her emerald green eyes shut and waited for her punishment for defying orders, her body trembled in fear and her leaves had started to lose its shine. The Queen tilted her head and contemplated her words, a slow smile spread across her cheeks but her eyes didn't seem as happy despite the smile she had.

"What does he want here?" She spoke through gritted teeth while maintaining her smile that did nothing to calm the dryad. Taking a step back, she looked behind at me and jerked back in surprise when the Queen raised her hand to comb her fingers through her hair, a permanent glare set on the dryad.

"Well?" Urging the faery who served her court, she tapped her feet trying not to burn her at the spot. She'd miss valuable information if she did.

"He requested an audience with your highness," she said with another bow. Gritting her teeth, the Queen glared at the dryad until she raised her head and met her emerald eyes with the graphite ones.

"You've quite the beautiful eyes, a courtesan. It would be a true shame if it were to be taken away, no?" The Queen asked circling the dryad, who averted her eyes and shook her head.

"No, your majesty." Widening her eyes, she realized her mistake. "I mean, yes, your majesty, it would be a shame" In one swift movement, the Queen had her fingers deep into the tree Faerie's eye sockets. White blood seeped through her fingers and dropped to her clothes. Yanking her hand back, she had two little dark green opaque spheres with transparent emerald green circles for irises.

"Huh, not as pretty to be kept." Wrinkling her nose in disgust, she glared at the dryad now writhing in pain with twin black hollow spheres where her eyes used to be, seeping translucent white sap. The Queen’s hand slowly turned as red as her lips and amber flames erupted through her palm burning the eyes that saw her with Taehyung on the bed.

Holding the palm with the molten eyeballs, she dropped them on the dryad who screamed in agony as she caught on fire-- her whole body made out of leaves, twigs and vines-- burning-- like a campfire while the Queen laughed and laughed at her misery. Running out of the Queen's chambers she screamed and wailed to be saved but all of the guards and courtesans averted their eyes and plugged their ears instead. Nobody wished to get in between the Queen and her petty punishments.

Running and running blindly the dryad reached the end of the corridor that extended into a balcony. She ran through it and fell straight into the semi-frozen pool with sirens and water sprites in them. Before the Queen could reach there, the water sprites came to her one by one and with spouts of water being pushed onto her burnt body, she healed little by little. At last, one of the sirens hummed a song and she came back to consciousness. Her eyes had been formed again, though not as brilliantly shining as before. It had dulled to a murky green now.

The Fae Prince along with four other angels stood with their mouth gaping open like a fish out of water in front of the dryad that was being healed. Pulling her out of water, Seokjin turned to Jimin, "What now?"

Once they stepped in front of the Royal Palace of the Unseelie Queene, Hoseok had left matters into the hands of Jimin and took his leave. He promised to bring back a complete arsenal of soldiers at Jimin's-- the future Fae king's-- disposal. However, Jimin refused all help and proclaimed that he was only there to make a request and claim what belongs to him. It was not the Fae who claimed the lands, but the lands who chose their ruler.

She had destroyed the Fae lands and polluted it. She'd shed blood of those who were innocent and kind and brought in human filth that had no place in the Fae realm. He had nothing against her at all. If anything he understood, there must have been a grave emergency for her to take those measures. But surely, there must have been other ways to go about it. It wasn’t too late yet. If they talked, surely a solution could be drawn. But if it was a war she wanted, he will not back down. The land was calling out to him, and it was time he answered the call in front of a big audience.

Jimin crouched down beside her and held her face in his hands. Kissing her eyelids, he pulled back and watched satisfied as her eyes sparkled like gems under the sun. She smiled in gratitude and the whole courtyard of the Royal Palace suddenly went shock still. Not even the water dared to make a sound in the pool.

Following their gazes to the balcony, Jimin was shocked to see the Faery Queen. She was decked in all white from her hair to her crown, her dress and even her jewelry- everything was white, making her look paler than she was, or perhaps she was already just as pale.

“Now we know she’s not worth talking to. We are outnumbered here and must play our cards right.” Whispered Jimin which was heard loud and clear by the Angels who stood behind him like a protective shield.

Her crown was made of bones and white flowers, her necklace and white silk-like hair adorned with white orchids, or what looked like orchids—were faeries who sat atop her hair and coiled around her neck, their beady eyes watching every move and whispering words of advice to the Queen. She wore a thin chiton made of the finest white silk held together below her bosom by the golden scarf. Bangles made out of conch shells decorated her wrists and ears. Her grey eyes fixed in a glare upon the Fae prince who dared to enter her palace without prior notice.

She wanted to torture his friend a bit more before inviting him and making him beg to release his friend of the spell she put on him. She meant to slowly turn Taehyung into one of their own—so he would never be accepted into the human realm anymore, neither be accepted as one of the Fae and wish to end his life to escape the misery that was sure to follow him for not accepting the affections of the Queen.

A pity, he had been such a bad boy, she just had to poison him. He was not worth the risk of betrayal that was sure to follow. His soul was pure and he would never close his eyes to the many wrongs that went on in her kingdom. She couldn’t risk him rebelling against her, no matter how fun and exhilarating that option was.

With a smirk and an elegant bow, the Queen descended the stairs one at a time, and the court awed at her ethereal beauty that could rival every human to ever exist. Her upturned cat-like eyes twinkled under the moonlight and little moonflowers grew on the path that she walked upon. Halting in front Jimin, she tilted her head.

Kneeling in front of her, he raised her hand to his lips and kissed her dewy fingers. "It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, my Queen." Raising on his own feet, he could scent the faint fragrance of frangipani and Jasmine waft from the Queen. He imagined her to be more-- cruel looking and ugly--for the things she had done. Never would he have imagined a soul so evil to look so innocent and pure. He wondered what went wrong for her to opt those ways of living.

"For a child of ten human years, you look far more grown up than you should." She observed, her dainty fingers touching his cheeks and smiling in appreciation. A child or not, she would not mind showing him the Royal Fae way of living-- lust, leisure and luxury. He would be the perfect toy to own, to mould him to her shape and preferences. He would know nothing but her, she would be his entire world. Oh how wonderful it would be.

"I can't sense Taehyung for two days, it's weird but now in here, I feel his presence stronger than ever before. But our connection is fading away, its like he is very sick—I can feel our bond weaken." Murmured Yoongi to Seokjin who was looking at Y/N worriedly.

"How can you feel Taehyung, of all people, in here of all places? You sure it isn't you wanting to escape, is it?" Jested Seokjin nudging Yoongi by the ribs.

With a scowl, Y/N turned her glare towards the two angels fighting amongst themselves, effectively shutting them up. Turning around she focused on the Queen. "Greetings, your Highness. I'm Azriel. I believe growing up among Angels made him perceive the world a bit differently than more humans." Y/N bit back a reply through a smile that looked more of a grimace.

"Ah, the Angel of death herself. How do you find my kingdom, if I may ask?" Directing her gaze to Y/N, the Queen watched her with an appreciative gaze that darkened when they landed on her dark black wings. She detested black things, they reminded her of her childhood.

“Its absolutely beautiful. As beautiful as the Queen herself. Makes me want to stay in here forever instead.” Y/N bowed to the Queen, but deep within, they both knew what she truly meant. Ignoring her jab, she focused her gaze back onto Jimin. She needed his power that made her skin tingle and mouth water. She needed him on her side.

"May I ask what brings you here in this kingdom?" The Queen asked trying to divert her mind from thinking of the past that existed no more. Seokjin stepped forward and stood beside Jimin proudly. Jimin smiled knowing he had his hyung's complete support. Breathing in, he contemplated how to best voice his concerns.

"I wanted to visit the lands is all and greet the Queen who I heard wanted to see me. Instead of making you travel all the way to the human realm, I thought I'd come see you instead." Jimin replied, his voice smug and confident.

"I still think something happened to Taehyung" whispered Yoongi from behind Y/N and focusing on his energy, he vanished into thin air. The Queen knew just where the silver haired Angel had vanished into. Despite their Fae clothing and elvish looks, their sword necklaces revealed their true nature. Enraged, she glared at the angels and the Prince.

"You come into my home unannounced and dare to enter inside without my permission?" "Guards!" She screamed and pointed at them. "Surround them and hold them captive. An angel has entered my room. Capture him too." None of the trees, vines or selkies moved. Furious, she ordered again, "I said--- get them! It's a direct order from your Queen!"

Yoongi came rushing out of the balcony with a bleeding Taehyung in his arms. "He's losing his life force! Seokjin help me!"

"How dare you come into my palace and take away my plaything!" Her eyes flashed into molten silver and a vine detached from the balcony and wrapped itself around Yoongi's throat. Unable to breathe, Yoongi dropped Taehyung from his arms while his face progressively became purple with the lack of air. Another vine detached from the balcony and held onto Taehyung mid-air. Gently dropping him in front of the Queen while little thorns grew all around Jimin, Y/N and Seokjin.

"Guards!" The Queen screamed again and the thorns started growing taller, effectively restraining them in one place. "Tell me, should I publically make an example of what happens when you try to outsmart me or let you go, in hopes you shall never return again?" She addressed Y/N, knowing how she felt about the human boy who she had poisoned right before coming down the stairs. She couldn't be bothered with him when he didn't give in to her seduction.

Raising her hand, the Queen closed her eyes for a moment and the vines that had wrapped themselves around Yoongi instantly retreated back and coiled around the marble balcony railings. There was no point wasting her energy and power on an angel that could never be killed. None of the Fae or the land responded to her calls and she had to use her own power to move things her way. Was Jimin that powerful to have claimed a land that had not been his to claim at all? How could he claim her throne away from her? She would kill the bastard child before it could sit on the throne she protected all her life.

Yoongi fell from the balcony straight into the pool below as the vines grabbing onto him retreated back and sank underwater. The water sprites carried him to the edge and retreated back into the pool, where he coughed out water and collapsed on the grass instantly. Breathing heavy, he tried to feel his bond with Taehyung and was shocked to find it weaken further. How was it even possible?

Gasping out loud he realized, Y/N was no more in her feline form, concealing her powers and without the necklace, if she went anywhere near Taehyung, he would die instantly, what with the poison already weakening his heart and body.

Jimin had had enough of her playing with his family and crouching down he took one fistful of the sand and closing his eyes started slowly humming a song in the ancient Fae tongue. The Earth shook and groaned beneath, skies changing to absolute darkness and covering the moon behind the thick clouds. The thorns that surrounded them like a cage now began to head towards the Queen in the same rhythm he was singing.

One of the thorns pierced right through her throat and a second one went straight in between her brows. A third vine went past her chest and slowly they attacked the queen one after the other. Now that the angels were no longer surrounded by the thorns, they both rushed straight to Taehyung’s side who was taking his few last breaths.

“Taehyung-ah…” Y/N started as soon as she kneeled beside him. Taking his head softly on her lap, she tried to take away the stray hair from over his eyes and caressed his cheeks softly with trembling hands. She knew he was a human and had a short life. She knew. Yet she had let herself fall in love. She tried so hard to distance herself from him. But was it all worth it? Of course not! She should have listened to Yoongi and had the most of the present when she could.

“You can’t die like this. You can’t die on me!” shaking him she sobbed with a hand over her lips trying to conceal her sorrow from the world. She was the angel of death, dealing with a thousand deaths every day. Then why would she cry over a single mortal? Insane…wasn’t it?

Even the screams of the Fae queen behind her did not faze her one bit.

"We all return back to the earth, Y/N. It's okay if we couldn't be together. I have no regrets." Coughing up blood, he screwed his eyes shut and winced. Holding onto his throat he breathed heavier with an open mouth.

"Death comes to us all, sooner or later. I have no regrets, none at all." Straining his voice, even his veins popped out by his neck, he opened his eyes, smiling faintly up at the dark Angel who saved his life the first night he saw her. "I have lived my life happily, I have my memories of you, so don't worry, I'll be okay. I'll always love you" With one last breath his eyes had lost its spark and despite the warmth of his skin, he had turned blue from the poison running through his veins.

"No! Taehyung! Don't say that! You'll live" softly tapping his cheek, she wiped the teardrop that fell onto his forehead. She was crying? Why was she crying? She never cried. "You can't give up like this. You're not supposed to die so soon. You promised me!"

Yoongi screamed clutching onto his heart as he felt his bond with Taehyung break. Getting up on his knees he looked towards where Y/N sat with tears streaming down her face, eyes vacant and lost, clutching onto Taehyung tightly against her chest as his blood soaked her pale blue dress. He knew the moment Taehyung had given away his necklace that he wanted to die if death were to come for him. He didn't want to be protected by the Angel when she didn't even love him back enough to choose him over her pride.

Yoongi wanted the Angel to fall in love with Taehyung. He wanted her to witness the death of a loved one and feeling just as helpless as he felt watching his parents die in her hands. But now that his hidden desires had come true, he loathed himself forever wishing that on her. She was far from innocent, yet she had feelings, unlike the other Angels. Instead of feeling satisfied from his revenge, he felt like he was the darkness and hated himself for causing her pain and grief.

Clutching onto the grass, he ripped a fist full of it and threw it somewhere far away, screaming in agony. Why? Why did he have to die now? He didn't deserve to die. The kid was so pure and innocent. His soul so kind and forgiving. What kind of a guardian was he? He didn't even think twice before rushing to the Fae kingdom without taking proper measures to protect Taehyung. He was his assigned guardian and he couldn't even protect the kid!

He watched astonished as the skies rumbled and the thorns started receding into the ground below and Jimin collapsed into Seokjin's arms. The castle cracked and fell to the ground along with Queen who had turned into a white marble statue in the middle of the whole garden. The Fae people who surrounded the castle huddled and started running away scared for their lives as rain started to fall from the skies above.

Y/N got up with Taehyung in her arms and walked towards the pool, setting him by the edge. Picking up a handful of water, she let him drink a sip and murmured a chant to protect his soul. She wouldn’t, couldn’t ever claim his soul. She’d call upon Uriel to assign someone else for the task. Jimin was safe, and so was Seokjin. She had nothing left here to do anymore. Looking back at the chaos behind, she smiled faintly and clutching her sword that hung from her neck, vanished into thin air.

Chapter one || Chapter two || Chapter three ||

Chapter Four ||Chapter Five ||Chapter six||

Chapter Seven || Chapter Eight || Chapter Nine ||

Chapter Ten || Chapter Eleven

#angel bts #bts angst #park jimin #kim taehyung #min yoongi #kim seokjin #bts

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veotis-the-jewel-of-the-ocean · 6 years

Photo

☾♔; 31.07.2018

☾♔; Tasha

☾♔; @veotis-the-jewel-of-the-ocean

☾♔; @serveorburn

☾♔; mod(s): @livesinabluebox @sighsethereally

▬ Set Requirement: Doesn’t matter, just make sure it has your faceclaim. Other than that, make whatever kind of thing you want! Square, rectangle, moodboard, magazine cover, whatever you want my nerds!

♛ Daenir Échon ♛

pronounced: Day-nir

♛ B A S I C⠀S T A T S ♛

▬ Full Name: Daenir Échon

▬ Nickname(s): Dae

▬ Title(s) and/or alias(es): The High Sorcerer

▬ Age: Roughly 27 summers give or take a few years

▬ Gender: Male

▬ Species: Witch - Isahor

▬ Occupation: Sorcerer of Veotis {currently} // Assassin/Witch Hunter {formally}

▬ Kingdom of Birth: Calia

▬ Kingdom of Residence: Veotis

♛ P H Y S I C A L⠀A P P E A R A N C E ♛

▬ Face Claim: Matthew Daddario

▬ Hair: Black

▬ Eyes: Blue-Grey

▬ Height: 6 ft 1

▬ Body: Scared perfection

▬ Any Scars/ Marks?: Several scars over his body, the most prominent of those are the shiny silvery marks around his wrists

▬ Any Tattoos/ Piercings?:

- A black and white dragon entwined over his heart

- Black wings across his back

- Protective runes across his ribs

- An unknown symbol on his upper left thigh

- A magical brand on his neck given to him by his mother

▬ Other: Nothing for now

♛ P E R S O N A L I T Y ♛

▬ Overview: Headstrong, stubborn and full of snarky wit and dry sarcasm, Daenir prefers to push people away to keep them from getting underneath the shields he has perfected over the years. Whilst generally he looks out for himself and acts like he’s been put out when people gather for his attention, underneath all those layers, Daenir does enjoy helping people. Due to years of abuse at the hands of his father, and the years of his imprisonment thanks to his mother, Daenir is known by the court to suffer moments of mental instability. Despite this, the King and the Advisory Council hold the man in high esteem due to his years of service to the kingdom and former apprenticeship to Master Cedric. Deanir is a warrior and most of the time is known to have unshakable focus in all of his tasks with little to distract him. His singular drive is to do better for the world he lives in even if he can only do it one bit at a time.

▬ Strengths: His stubbornness - but it can also be a weakness; his inability to give up on someone or something; his desire to make things safer for witches

▬ Weaknesses: Hates, and I mean HATES dark places, has to sleep with the fire going due to his imprisonment; extreme awkwardness in social situations; overuse of his powers can result in severe dehydration, often occurs when he spends too long in combat; inability to share his feelings to avoid being called weak

▬ Habits and Quirks: Daenir has been known to spark when he is annoyed or frustrated, likewise he can lose control of his lightning based abilities when in a state of arousal

▬ Likes: Hot places, warm weather, soft music, reading, painting, drawing, being left alone when he needs to be, gardening, tea of all kinds, libraries, old stories, archery, horse riding, knives, outsmarting stupid nobles, Aldir and Ryo, his apprentice and likewise his former teacher, spicy food {the hotter the better}, traveling

▬ Dislikes: Animals that have no point, being called damaged, being coddled - he is NOT a child, foolish religious people, having other’s ideals forced onto him, discrimination, fighting for the sake of fighting, moronic little assholes, people who use position to gain what they want, bullies, being touched without permission, flirting {if you want someone, just fucking tell them stupid}, sweet food, cold weather, snow, parties

▬ Hobbies: Painting, drawing, collecting old tomes, pissing off his parents, building models, gardening, brooding spectacularly, outsmarting stupid nobles

▬ Character Tropes: Dark and Troubled Soul; When Dad Met Mum; Abusive Parent; Byronic Hero; The Quiet One; The Wild Card, Parental Issues; Parental Abandonment; Daddy Issues; Mum Is A Bitch {if that is not a trope is bloody well should be}, Big Brother Instinct; Bi The Way; Archer Archetype; Death Seeker; Jerk With A Heart of Gold; Friend To All Children; Tall, Dark and Handsome; Tall, Dark and Snarky; Badass Bookworm

▬ Additional Information: Will literally lose his shit at being called an animal. Daenir spent twenty years of his life being likened to an animal by his father and his mother, the first one to treat him as an actual human being was Cóven VI

♛ A B I L I T I E S ♛

▬ Pyrokinesis: an ability often associated with war. Most witches born in Veotis are born with an affinity for either earth, air or water, Daenir’s ability with fire is frightening and at the same time another way to show that he is not a Veotis native.

▬ Electrokinesis: Daenir barely has a grasp on this ability as it is. It is mostly responsible for the tangled, chaotic mess the sorcerer calls hair. He can create, shape and manipulate electricity

▬ Hardening: This skill is inherited from Daenir’s father, whilst he hates the man, the skill itself allows him to turn his body into a living weapon. There is one weak spot but Daenir has only told one person and that is the King

▬ Armed and Unarmed Combat: the skill is self explanatory but Daenir excels more with knives and the bow than he does with a sword

▬ Able to fumble his way through any conversation with a shy smile and incomprehensible mumbling

♛ F A M I L Y ♛

Fucked up. There is no other way to describe it. Feredir and Malrin consummated their love to hate your guts relationship after a drunken encounter in the middle of a storm. The Witch Hunter stole away with the child when he was barely a week old and turned him into a weapon that hunted his own kind. Feredir wants his weapon back, Malrin wants her son dead, Daenir just wants to train his apprentice, keep witches safe and stay loyal to the king.

▬ Feredir Havel || 49 || Father || Karl Urban || Witch Hunter

If ego had a proper name it would be Feredir Havel. He is a prideful, manipulative, charismatic man who takes pleasure in twisting others to his cause. He dislikes witches and the freedom they have, often taking great joy in killing or imprisoning them.

▬ Malrin Échon || 46 || Mother || Charlez Theron || Head of the Witches Guild

Meaning lady crowned with gold. Malrin is the Head of the Witches Guild and seen as the most powerful witch in Veotis second to none until Daenir comes into his full power. She dislikes the fact that he can outdo her in just about anything without trying, the fact he spent the better part of six years actively killing and hunting his own kind might have something to do with it. Malrin cursed her son to hear the dying cries of those he has killed for the rest of his days

▬ Caladwin Échon || Deceased || Sister || Kaya Scodelario || Witch

She’s dead, nothing else to say

♛ B I O G R A P H Y ♛

Born the only son of Feredir Havel and Malrin Échon, Daenir spent the first years of his life being nothing but a tool to his father’s endgame. Feredir and Malrin consummated their love to hate your guts relationship after a drunken encounter in the middle of a storm resulting in the birth of Daenir a month earlier than normal. When he was barely a week old, Fereldir had his hunters kidnap his son and bring the baby back to Calia where he would spend the next fourteen years being raised as an ‘unofficial’ weapon to hunt his own kind.

Daenir committed his first hunt when he was a few months shy of fifteen, whilst it was widely known that the hunt went spectacularly wrong in every way possible, the truth being much bloodier than that. False intelligence was given which resulted in the death of a young witch and her parents, an act that would only serve to fuel the boy’s hatred of his own kind {and come back to haunt him years later}.

Whilst Feredir kept up his charade as a respectable Witch Hunter who kept to the law, he continually sent Daenir out into the world in order to rid the world of ALL witches. This carried on until Daenir was eighteen and came to the attention of his mother, now head of the Witches Guild in Veotis. Daenir killed the wrong witch who happened to be his half-sister and ended up spending the next year running from the wrath of his own mother, a woman he didn’t even know.

The hunt ended back in Veotis in the heart of the Aedis Forest where Daenir was taken down by the combined effort of the entire Guild. A curse was laid upon Daenir to hear the cries of his victims until the day he died, and then he was locked away into the darkness of Aedis Prison with a single warden who would be rotated by Malrin every month. Whilst the woman didn’t want her son to die just yet, she didn’t want him to be free to go about his life like he hadn’t caused harm to his own kind. That was her revenge for the death of her dear daughter.

When Cóven and his royal guard found the prison hidden in the Aedis Forest, Daenir was near feral from being chained and locked away for so long. With the assistance of Cedric Ebe, Cóven was able free him from the magical bindings and take him back Aecor and the Summer Palace to try and help bring him back from insanity, helping him heal along the way.

With the assistance of Lady Helaena from Astronia and her apprentice Lady Everleigh, Daenir was able to come back to the world a bit at a time until his mind could function properly. After four years in darkness, he found it hard to trust anyone, first opening up to Cóven and then Cedric after he took up an apprenticeship with the Royal Sorcerer. The feeling of trusting someone was so unfamiliar but the knowledge that he actually belonged somewhere was something that Daenir accepted even if his mind told him no.

After meeting his mother in the middle of an Advisory Council meeting, Daenir was forced to come clean with his past, he half expected to be thrown back inside the darkness of the prison and his own mind. Instead of rejection, Daenir found acceptance from both his master’s and soon found himself inheriting the title of Royal Sorcerer when Cedric decided to retire. During the years he has been active in his current role, Daenir has taken to trying to right many of wrongs committed in his earlier years and bring peace to the world a little bit at a time.

♛ O T H E R ♛

▬ Has a pet Nyrk gifted to him by his father when he was a child. Aldir {named after the God of War} is incredibly aggressive to everyone but Daenir and the King. Ryo, a rare Panthera in Veotis, was a gift given to him by the former King, the beast is loyal and far more friendly than his counterpart Aldir

▬ Daenir is basically Fenris and I will fight you if you say otherwise

#veotis #daenir Échon #tasha's work

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fuyu-mayoi · 5 years

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Ciao! Leggo spesso i tuoi commenti, non sapevo fossi italiana xD Ora che i 4 Dragoni sono arrivati al castello di Hiryuu pensi che AkaYona stia per volgere al termine?

Buondì Anon :)

Italinissima! Mi sono accorta solo ieri di aver tolto per sbaglio la nazionalità dalla descrizione. Ho rimediato, meglio tardi che mai xD

No, non credo che il finale sia dietro l’angolo. Credo invece che la storia sia entrata in una fase decisiva e di conseguenza le aspettative del fandom si siano alzate. Considerata la cadenza di uscita, la lunghezza di un arc e le pause, penso che ne avremo per minimo i prossimi 3 anni (massimo azzarderei un 5). Tutto dipenderà da come Kusanagi saprà giocare la carta del “turning point”e dal rapporto che Yona instaurerà con Soo-won. Personalmente penso che la storia potrebbe avere molto da dire se oltre al lato romantico e politico, la sensei si concentrasse di più sul fantasy. E’ un settore rimasto inesplorato, se parliamo solo della profezia brancoliamo ancora nel buio:

“Darkness has fallen upon the land.

The blood of the dragons will revive once again, and the ancient pact will be kept. “

Esattamente quale è questa oscurità dalla quale bisogna difendersi? E’ ormai scontato che Soo-won, per quanto un Grey character, non arrivi ad una malvagità tale da meritare questo titolo al massimo sinnamon roll .

Nemmeno i ruoli dei personaggi sono chiari:

When the four dragons are gathered,The sword and shield which will protect the king shall awakenand the Red Dragon shall restore the dawn at last.”

Sword and shield = ????

The king = Soo-won

Red Dragon = Yona

Quasi certamente Hak si rivelerà essere la spada o lo scudo, ma il secondo legame è ignoto.

Ci sarebbe poi da dialogare sul mistero che circonda la morte di Re Il, su Yo-Hon, Kashi (la madre di Yona), il fantomatico importante ruolo che Tae-Jun ricoprirà in futuro secondo Zeno, la relazione HakYona. Insomma ne abbiamo per tutte le salse, e con il ritmo attuale è davvero impensabile che Akatsuki no Yona si possa concludere in tempi anche lontanamente recenti.

#akatsuki no yona #reply #fuyu babbles #long talk in italian for once #grazie per la domanda #parlare in lingua madre è rinfrescante

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odrseasonone · 3 years

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Objects of Power?????

I figure, if Rochilda and Rhaegar and Rob’s dragon can be filled w power and become living talisman, and Dezod’s house can be a non-living one, surely smaller objects can do the same and those objects can be used to give our five resistance members a fighting chance as well as forging various plots etc...so!! thought id put together some ideas/concepts...and shockingly (cue eye roll) I got a little carried away...

anyway!! obv, we can mix and match any of this, any stories, any powers, any objects...just ideas!!

inspo: [ x ]

The Staff of Mithrim (sometimes transcribed Mithirim) the Greater -- extant

A Gandalf/Merlin-like figure who is Said to have served the first Aragothi Kings for almost two centuries, Mithrim belongs to the mists of time. While some doubt that there is any authenticity whatsoever to his legend, others claim that there was, indeed, some such person (or persons) who at one time walked the world.

The anonymous Scholar of Vysova (c. 250 AL - Age of the Lion) held that Mithrim was no single mage, at all, but rather a title for the king’s court mage -- or perhaps, suggests Reymund of Swystone (c. 133 AD - Age of the Dragon), a collection of mages who may have served a purpose similar to that of the dragonriders. Lysander Stafford (A Modern History of Sorcery, 812 AD) reverts to the old belief that Mithrim was but one man, and sites a fragments from a lost work (said to have been penned by the Young Dragon, himself) that Mithrim used energy from a now-lost amulet in order to extend his life that he might help Aragoth longer.

Whatever the identity (or, indeed, identities) of Mithrim, many great legends exist about his life but, perhaps the strangest relates to his death. It is said that, rather than dying as a mortal man would, Mithrim translated his essence into a powerful object now known as the Staff of Mithrim. This powerful talisman is a huge and twisted staff made of wood. It is alternately said that the staff was carved from a tree into which Mithrim translated a la Merlin, or that the staff had always belonged to him and been carried by him in life before he translated into it.

Whatever the case, the staff still exists and its power is just as great today as ever it was said to be. Because it is not known how many souls may reside within the staff, however, it is impossible to say how powerful it might be.

The Kingsword/The Sword of Rowlin I - extant (sort of)

The first King of Aragoth is a semi-mythic figure. Served by Mithrim the Greater, who picking him out of prophecies that were already ancient at that time, helped him along his way, Rowlin I of Arrington carved order out of chaos and forged a way of life for those who followed him, founding a mighty kingdom high in the mountains of Blaminster. Through shrewd negotiations and bloody conflicts, he brought more and more under his dominion (a duty his descendants took quite seriously and soon nearly all the continent was held under the sway of Arrington scepters). His reign, though it had its own issues certainly, was as fair and just, the king looking to establish a rule of law and justice in his territories, rather than his own petty feelings of any given moment which had been the closest anyone had yet come to arbitration until that time. His reign was considered a golden age.

In the midst of the many battles he was forced to fight -- each other strong man wishing to crush his regime and take it for their own, as killing was a way to show their own strength -- his own ordinary sword cracked and splintered, Rowlin nearly dying in the midst. Seizing the opportunity, after the battle, Mithrim had a new longsword forged. Rowlin was known for his immense height -- said to be nearly a giant -- and so the blade was a longsword said to stand from tip to pommel as high as the next tallest man of his court. (While this is doubtless an exaggeration that has grown with time, that the blade was massive is evinced in its two surviving pieces). The Sword of Rowlin was passed down to his descants who ruled after him, becoming known first as the King’s Sword and later, simply, as the Kingsword. The legendary blade was not known merely for its size, however: it had been imbued with great power. The sword was magic.

In its forging, both Mithrim and a rival sorcerer, Hragos, worked together to forge it: the project being so great it required both of the two greatest mages of the time to create it. Their very hearts and souls flowed into the crafting of the weapon. It is said that, because Mithrim represented all that was good, and Hragos all that was evil, the sword was half a blessing -- and half a curse, and its power so great that it was said to drive its lesser wielders mad. Whether this was simply a confusion with the strain of mental illness that runs through the Arrington line cannot be said. Tellingly, it is alternately said that the weapon was entirely blessed until its wielding in an evil deed -- often cited as the infamous Slaughter of Frain in 239 AL -- curdled the blessing and turned it into a curse which is said, in this version, to have driven the later Arrington Kings mad.

Crafted from adamantine and forged in the breath of ten dragons, it was the fiercest weapon that had even graced this world, strong enough to cleave through anything -- even spells -- and can never go blunt or rust, while also remaining light to hold. Inscribed with runes, they blazed in time of war and gleamed with soft light in peace, but glowed crimson when one of evil intent approached. It was enchanted never to miss a stroke. When drawn, the Kingsword blazed with fire. When drawn by a worthy for a worthy cause, the fire would do no harm to its wielder, but when drawn by one who was unworthy for an unworthy cause, the fire would consume the would-be wielder and kill them. It is said that the blade could slay gods and demons and that it could repel evil magic. The Kingsword could slay with a single blow -- and revive the dead with but a single touch of its pommel. These were its blessings, but its curses were as profound.

It is said that the curse was so heavy that when the Kingsword was unsheathed someone must die before it was re-sheathed -- even if that means the life in question is that of the wielder. Able to kill in a single blow, even with those whose lives were spared, the wounds it inflicted -- even the smallest ones -- could never be healed. When allowed to strike the ground, it caused tremors and even the occasional gash through the earth. It was so preternaturally sharp that, when rested blade-down, it cut through wood without the use of force. Perhaps most terrible of all, the Kingsword was said to feed off its wielders, giving them power while simultaneously devouring them from the inside out and it is said, further, that it is from this awful source that the sword still draws its power: consuming the souls of those who wield it.

Early in the War of the Two Crowns, however, the Kingsword was broken (an event which was taken by many to be a sign that the Southern cause was, indeed, correct), cleaved in twain between the pressure of dragonfire and war. Both ends of the blade remained sharp, however, and they were taken by two mages and reforged, each into its own sword.

When the new swords were complete, a contest was held. The two sorcerers each placed their sword in to a river and patiently held it there. One blade sliced everything that passed beneath it: fish and leaves and seasweed and water and the very air that passed by it. The other blade, however, cut through the leaves and the seaweed which passed below it, but the fish wriggled past unscathed, the water parted about it as it was meant to do, and the air blew on by. The first sorcerer leapt up, proclaiming his blade the better, but the judge shook his head and declared the second sword the greater, for it sliced all that it must and let the rest pass in peace.

Thus, it is held that when the Kingsword split, so did its enchantments. The first sword is the cursed blade, and the second the blessed one.

Vysovan Bolts - non-extant

the dragon-slaying type of arrow...

The Codex of --- - extant (sort of)

A grimoire of like all magical knowledge. asp the arrington kings sought to destroy it during their war on magic. fearing its permanent loss, the semi-mythological sorcerer, Daerion, is said to have torn it into many magically-shrouded and -protected pieces, according to him, destroying it in order that it could never be destroyed

The --- Stone - extant

offers protection against dragonfire (maybe they put this into the ceiling of their castle or whatever and crowd as many ppl inside as possible and that’s how/part of how they escape at the end of s1/beginning of s2

The Ring of Tarsys - extant

allows you to teleport within a certain radius. maybe cedric is using this (bc a teleporting archer would admittedly work great in a battle when you’ve got only one) to fight and to gather ppl into the above protected castle when he sees roran and ends up dying for him or whatever and that’s why roran blames himself??

Daerion’s Mantle - extant

ur standard cloak of invisibility

The Ring of --- - extant

can dispel enchantment/renders wearer immune to magic/enchantments

The Shield of --- - extant

impenetrable -- invulnerable against fire?? and/or protects its wielder from all injuries or smth idk or like while its being worn, the user cannot die even if they’ve sustained multiple mortals wounds but once it comes off they die -- basically, it does not defend against pain or injury, just death

The Amulet of Ramos - extant

said to have originated in the other continent, its a protective talisman and/or can sense/trace magic

The Mirrors of Mithrim the Lesser - extant

scrying glasses that can look into e/o and/or like one can see like ur greatest love and the other your greatest hate or smth idk

The Gem(s) of Vyrdin - extant

from the Southern Isles - can control all elements and/or there are four gems and each one controls a specific element?? (i.e., the fire gem of vyrdin, the water gem of vyrdin, the air gem of vyrdin, and the earth gem of vyrdin)

Tyrnhelm - extant

a helm/circlet/band that enables the wearer to take up another visage

Adamant(ine) - non?extant?

the strongest material/metal in the universe -- stolen directly from irl legend. anyway, it def used to exist at the v least, but im thinking it possibly only exists now in the remaining items that were forged out of it in the Age of Heroes/Legend/Myths/Pre-Historic Era when it was plentiful, or whatever

The Ring of Daerion - extant

grants the user limited telekinesis (like, you can hurl someone across a room or pull them towards you type deal)

The Bracelet of --- - extant

allows the user to see through all illusions

various other powers:

grants up to three wishes per user

makes the user immune to illness/poison

unlocks or uncovers anything that is locked or closed

spaces where many ppl died, such as battlefields or the sites of ritual sacrifices, etc, still have power from the souls

clairvoyance

psychometry

limited precognition a la a strong ‘ive got a good/bad feeling about this’ kinda energy

limited electrokinesis -- not like thor level but...like, more ordinary levels

also, just standard items which, imbued w souls/power/energy grant power a la the staff of mithrim/basically allow a non-mage to use magic

illusions

#thought id do some possible write-ups on some 'objects of power' in case we wanted to go that route #kate

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cyanoticfireflies · 3 years

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Pokémon Sword Avatar Challenge Playthrough Part 12

This is it, folks! Our second to last update and our last update of the main game (the pre-credits game). It’s been an enjoyable playthrough using some fun new Poke-friends that I hadn’t gotten a chance to use before.

If you missed Part 1, it’s available HERE. If you missed Part 2, it’s available HERE. If you missed Part 3, it’s available HERE. If you missed Part 4, it’s available HERE. If you missed Part 5, it’s available HERE. If you missed Part 6, it’s available HERE. If you missed Part 7, it’s available HERE. If you missed Part 8, it’s available HERE. If you missed Part 9, it’s available HERE. If you missed Part 10, it’s available HERE. If you missed Part 11, it’s available HERE.

Let’s go beat the Champion!

We gear up to go into battle against Leon, but oh? Oh my. Rose has apparently lost his mind. Well, what to do. I mean, obviously go stop him from absolutely destroying everything. I’m telling you, if Macro Cosmos had just invested in renewable energy we wouldn’t be in this mess. Now we have to save the planet. Again.

We go with Hop back to the Slumbering Weald to find the Sword and Shield Pokemon of myth. Gee, wonder how the games got their names. Amazing. I love our mother watching us run off into the place we’re forbidden to go where we passed out last time after hearing that Rose is trying to recreate a storm that almost destroyed the region and she’s just smiling and waving like “I’ll make pot roast!” Muuuuuuum….

We gather up a boatload of goodies laying on the ground, including TM86 Phandom Force, one of my favorite moves which absolutely no one on our team can learn. Of course. We meet up with Hop and as soon as he mentions the fog it gets even worse. And out walk the two Pokemon of legend, all chill like “Yeah, what’s up?” I’ve gotta say, the shrine for the sword and the shield is a gorgeous little cut-scene. That place looks really cool.

The sword and the shield are rusted and worn down, but I’m sure they’ll still be usable because plot.

We head to Hammerlocke to meet up with Leon at the stadium. Raihan is waiting for us outside to basically warn us that things are bad. I mean, Rose is trying to summon the Darkest Day, so yeah. We head inside where Oleana has apparently decided to stop being crazy long enough to be helpful. Helpful enough to drop the big name: Eternatus.

Does the basement remind anyone else just a little of where we fought Xerneas/Yveltal in X/Y? Just me? Okay.

Rose is so dedicated to protecting the future that he doesn’t care what happens to the present, which is astonishingly poignant in many ways right now. At least he looks like he regrets it as the angelic choir kicks in. (“Seph-i-roth!”) His line-up is so Steel-type heavy that Okama the Centiskorch pretty much one-shots his way through with just a quick Hyper Potion from us since he’s a little slow. These Macro Cosmos battles were why we took the time to replace our Orbeetle and Vanilluxe to get a Fire-type on the team.

I’m so glad giving Rose a beat-down was enough to bring him back to his senses. Too bad we didn’t manage it before he decided to cause the regional apocalypse. We take the lift up to the roof and yeah, okay. That dragon is… not intimidating? Maybe it would have been before Giratina. But whatever! Leon’s got this. He’s just got to toss a Pokeball and… oh, right. It’s never that easy. Thanks, Charizard, for the quick save!

When Eternatus wants to battle we take it down quickly with Aleyla’s Psychic blasts. Easy peasy! But, of course, Eternatus isn’t going down so easily. It rises up into the sky like a black hole above the roof and, yeah, okay. *That* looks much more intimidating! Good job!

We just have to stick it out for a couple of turns while we’re unable to move. This feels familiar. Hop has the idea to raise the ancient Sword and Shield and, interestingly enough, it works! The ancient Pokemon hear our call and teleport to our rescue or something.

Now it’s four-on-one with possibly my favorite version of the regular battle theme. That high piano? That guitar? Dude. Xacian and Zamazenta are ready to fight, armed with the legendary tools of war. It’s a good chance to see what each of the legendaries does with Xacian hitting a Howl and Zamazenta immediately putting up Light Screen. Us nailing Psychic is doing about as much damage as the Behemoth moves, so Eternatus goes down in no time at all. We get the chance to catch it, and we have one Premier Ball – I can’t resist.

The sun comes out, showing that we’ve ended the Darkest Day!

I think they could have really expanded this part of the story, personally. But okay. It is what it is. Most of my complaints with this game are about the rushed legendary plot.

Three days later we’re back and ready for the Championship Match. Before that, I do pause and take a look at our Eternatus. Technically since it’s a Poison-type, we could chuck it onto the team. But it’s only level 60, actually five to nine levels lower than our base team. It’s Lax nature so more Defense and less Sp. Defense with the ability Pressure which is really not that interesting. Oh well. Just curious.

We go to the stadium and face off against Leon. Stupid pose and all! I send out Rajuna the Greedent again Aegislash to nail some Bites since we won’t need Rajuna for most of the fight and she can tank Sacred Swords. The Attack drop from King’s Shield is a pain but not enough to keep us from taking Aegislash to a sliver before Leon uses a Full Restore. On our very next attack we land a critical hit Bite, taking Aegislash down just like that.

The only option for dealing with Seismitoad is Makuda the Flapple. One Grav Apple is double super effective and ends that Seismitoad before it can let off a single attack. Makuda is just too good, you guys! Team MVP.

Aleyla the Mr. Rime goes up against Haxorus, but we get hit with a brutal Iron Tail that brings us down to a single hit point! How do we survive? Our first Freeze-Dry freezes Haxorus! We’re going to do this! Except… Haxorus thaws on the first turn? We only have one hit point! Haxorus goes for the finishing Iron Head – and misses! A second Freeze Dry takes it down. That was a rollercoaster from start to finish!

We switch into Amal the Dreadnaw to deal with Cinderace, the evolution of the Scorbunny neither Hop nor I took at the beginning of the game, which is a precious little call-back. Not so precious that we don’t destroy it with a single Liquidation, but still precious.

We go back out to Makuda to deal with the Dragapult, pitting dragon against dragon (dragon wins!) We get some unfortunate Paralysis as we trade in and then awful luck getting paralyzed against Dragon Breath and actually have to pull Makuda out and switch Okama in. Makuda, we were just praising you! Okama can hit hard with Crunch, enough to end this battle.

The last Pokemon is his Charizard, and this is what we’ve been holding Haku back for. Charizard is faster and Gigantamaxes, getting off a Max Rockfall that is very, very fortunately not a Ground-type move. But then his next move, G-Max Wildfire, is enough to take Haku down. That… didn’t go as planned. We send out Okama to make the sacrifice as we use a Max Revive on Haku, but it wasn’t actually necessary. In a moment of sheer irony, the sandstorm caused by Charizard’s own Max Rockfall does enough chip damage to take it down.

I’ll… I’ll take the W!

And just like that, we’re the new Champion of Galar! Look at the pride on Mum’s face! Look at Hop’s joy! Of course Bede and Marnie are too cool to smile, but you know they’re feeling it too. Ooh, fireworks!

#pokemon #pokemon sword #pokemon sword/shield #avatar challenge #water tribe #let's play #pokemon gen 8 #pokemon gen viii #generation viii #generation 8

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