#Merrith OC

[aberranttree]

Delve Deeper

just a lil thing I thought of talking to @slimegirl-selkie

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The Party hadn't seen the light of day in days, hell it might even have been a week since the 3 of them and their pet monster, Ze, had descended into the caverns beneath the citadel. At first, the going was easy; their packs were full and their bodies well-rested. Now, they weren't so sure they'd see the sun again.

The caves weren't cold at first. Warmth from the buildings above had seeped into them, but after an hour or two descending into the system the radiating heat faded and the party realized they were going to be facing something they were not prepared for.

The first day, the narrow caves threatened to press Kirkland til he popped.

The second, heat dissipated and the cold set in.

On the third day, Ariana started speculating:

"Wh-what if i-its a white dra-dragonn?"

"No."

"What?! Kirk, how could you possibly know that"

"Dragons like that wouldn't tolerate being stuck under the citadel. Dragons don't like the citadel, it used to be one of the safest fortresses from them in its heyday. Until the guards-" He shot Merrith a look. "-killed all the dragons in the mountains around the citadel. Now, I don't think a lone dragon would strike back."

"It's not like I killed them."

Kirkland grunted. He was big and kind, built a grizzly bear, but acted like a Teddy Bear. Ze perched on his shoulder, a little ball of green Ooze curled up against his neck. Merrith wondered how he got over the feeling of the slime, rolling down the front and back of his shoulders and even morphing entirely around parts of him sometimes.

Merrith shivered. She hadn't been this cold since her winters at the Sorrengard Military Academy, all the way to the north of the continent. She thought she'd never be that cold again when she moved to the Southern Empire, but here she was, freezing in a cave in the middle of the hottest summer she had ever endured.

"W-we should huddle t-together f-f-for warmth"

"Buck up Merrith, we'll find the beast that's been murdering people in the citadel and slay it any minute now"

Merrith loved that about Kirkland. He never let his worry show. No matter how helpless he felt, he always had the confidence that was supposedly expected of her as one of the guards at the citadel. Maybe it was because Ze was so small that he always had to be brave for it, but Merrith somehow knew that even without Ze, Kirkland's attitude wouldn't be much different. After all, Ze wasn't the first monster he'd adopted knowing full well that one day it would outgrow his ability to care for it. There was one of those invisible panther things before Ze and something about its passing made Merrith think it wasn't the first either.

"I'm sure you would like to cuddle with big, strong Kirk" Ariane teased.

Merrith hated that about the petite girl. Everything was about love with her. She was always scared. Ariane, if Merrith was allowed an opinion (and she always allowed herself an opinion) did not belong on this adventure, she belonged in a temple, healing and repairing humanity's connection with the Gods.

On the fourth day in the caves, the group stopped in front of a wall of frozen blue goop. Kirkland crouched by it and took out one of his mallets. Merrith could never tell them apart in battle but as Kirkland raised it and smashed the frozen substance, she noticed the runes carved into the handle and recognized the mallet as Chisel, Kirkland's right-hand mallet.

"Well, I think I know what we're dealing with, even if i've never seen or heard of one before"

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that's part 1 I guess. I don't wanna rush the ending and need to establish the characters so part 2 may be soon, I'll try to attach it here somehow when I do post it, but I'm not sure how I do that.

[justanartsysideblog]

luffthearts replied to your post “Anyone want to send me asks? Headcannons? AUs you want to see my ocs...”

How does Fen'Sulahn interact with Falon'din's reputation/proclivities? Does she curb them, rail against, other? If Fen'Sulahn were to build a refuge, a sanctuary for mental/emotional recovery, possibly even physical healing for herself, what would it look like? Sorry if this has been asked before: What does Melarue think of Fen'Sulahn?

Fen’Sulahn does a pretty good job at curbing Falon’Din in this au. He doesn’t sacrifice people en masse, and is less likely to react with explosive violence. That being said, he’s manipulative, and selfish, and that lends itself to its own cruelties. 

She and Falon’Din rarely agree on things, of course. They argue often, and Olwyn is too stubborn and determined to help to let him get away with a lot of things. He finds ways around that, of course. Once they are split into their own territories, it’s harder for Olwyn to keep constant watch on him. He’s able to get away with a lot more than he would have if Olwyn were around to stop him. 

The problem in this au is that Olwyn is tied to Dirthamen and Falon’Din inexplicably. Their souls are tethered, and that connection is deep and unbreakable and means that Olwyn forgives sometimes when she should not. And Olwyn has her own insecurities, and because her way of thinking about the world, and how the people in it should be treated is so vastly different than the rest of her family’s views, she doubts sometimes if she can make a difference. Still, she is determination, so she never stops trying. 

---

It’s where she goes after Falon’Din tells her that Mythal wanted to shatter her when she was still a spirit. 

There used to be an old temple there, from long before her mother and father built the empire of the people. When her name and the names of her siblings belonged to old gods, and clans carved songs into the stone walls. 

The temple itself is gone, flattened, and built over, to be forgotten like so many things. But deep in its furthest chambers had been an underground spring, seeping up between the stones. Olwyn built her healing chamber around that spring, and when the weight upon her shoulders is too heavy to bear, or she finds herself afraid, she goes there. She listens to the sound of the water bubbling up from the ground, and holds Haurshos close, and tries her hardest to heal.

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Melarue will never love an Evanuris, no matter how heroic they may seem. Still, they can respect Fen’Sulahn. The kindest of the Leaders of the People. The most foolish, some say. Foolish and far too trusting. But Melarue does not think Fen’Sulahn is a fool. They think she is idealistic, to be certain, and that her’s is a bleeding heart that will be the death of her one day. But a fool? No.

Fen’Sulahn tries to protect the People. She tries to stop her siblings and her parents from taking lives needlessly. But she still places her mark upon the face of her followers. She still believes herself a leader, and others lesser somehow. Not objects to be owned, perhaps, but children in need of a guiding hand, unable to do so themselves without the widsom of the evanuris. 

Fen’Sulahn listens, when people come to her with problems. She does not punish without cause. 

She tried to help Merrith, when the madness took him. Tried to save him from it. She’d kept her sister from hunting him like a wild animal for sport, when finally he lost himself. She went alone, and she made it quick, and she let him die with dignity, and Melarue will never forget that.

Melarue will feel badly, when the day comes that the Evanuris must die. But if the empire is to fall, the evanuris must fall with it. 

Melarue will make it quick, and let her die with dignity. 

They can promise that much.

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Thank you so much for the ask!