#Tynos Riller

[pocketninja-ffxiv]

Wake up.

Why wasn't she waking up? Mom you need to wake up! 

N'yami shook her mother's lifeless body she held in her arms, G'lewra wasn't responding to anything. The two were enjoying the fresh air outside while they waited for the group to return. Telling stories of how the Synch kids were growing up do fast. 

All while doing this N'yami could feel the tug on her mothers aether increasing, Yami’s own aether battling with the dark entity that had latched on to the Scholar a couple moons ago. Even with how much she was battling to keep her mother's aether within her body it felt like Yami was grasping at smoke, and all she could do was watch as it slipped between her fingers.

And then it happened. 

Without warning G'lewra collapsed, and N'yami had been quick enough to catch her mother before she hit the ground. 

“No….nonononono! MOM!! They're comin’ back! Dad's comin’ back to help! He always does! DON'T YOU DARE LEAVE ME!!” 

N’yami wasn't a healer, she didn't know how to fix this. She's just a damn blacksmith. Learning healing was pointless in her eyes because G’lewra was always around to patch her up. But now she was gone. 

The Seeker's breathing picked up as she felt the swirls of emotions erupt from her dark aether, red aether flickered around her while her ruby gaze gave off an ominous glow. A blood curdling howl escaped her lungs as he shouted towards the sky as the emotions took over, the pulses of aether coming off the Dark Knight becoming stronger with each passing moment. 

She needed help. Dad knew what to do with this sort of thing, Tynos wasn't a master of aetherical manipulation for nothing. N'yami fumbled with her linkpearl for a moment then let it spring to life. 

"I NEED THE OLD MAN NOW!" N'yami's panicked voice shouted over the linkpearl. She wasn't able to steady her breathing, quick and hurried breaths as her body was heading into a panic attack. "She's gone!” And with a final attempt she tried calling to her mother again. “WAKE UP DAMNIT! MMMOOOOMMM!" Her breathing became more panicked as she tried to think of who else was there that could help. Aislinn. "LINN!" Crying out to the hyur like a younger sibling that needed protection. 

With the last effort, N'yami clicked off the linkpearl as she cried over G'lewra's form, clutching to the lifeless body as if her mothers body would slip away from her just as the aether did. 

“You know how to fix this.”

She tried to drown out the voice in her head, the voice that always came to life when it was a fight or flight situation. N'yami’s body didn't understand the meaning of flight, and so this voice always came around to encourage the Seeker to keep fighting. No matter what. 

Looking up with tear stained cheeks N'yami saw an image of herself standing in front of her clad in armor that put the shadows to shame. Spikes jutting out in random directions, and the red aether made cracks along the armor to empower it. 

“There's one right here, and she's the cause of all this, right? Actions have consequences.” 

Xha.

A low growl rumbled through N'yami while her grip on G'lewra's body tightened while thinking about the ex cultist. 

“They're allowing her to walk freely, and yet we still lost someone. She took mom away from us. It's her fault. You FOUGHT with everything to keep her here and NOW SHE'S GONE BECAUSE OF THESE CULTISTS! They don't get to live!!!” 

The more the aether spoke to N'yami made the glow in her eyes brighter, with so much emotions you'd expect to see those feelings flooding her ruby orbs but they were hollow. So empty but yet so dangerous to look at. The look of a killer, and the voice in her head was winning. There was no one there to calm the Dark Knight. Usually she did so well to contain these emotions, use them to protect those she loves. But now one of them was gone, and she blamed herself for it. 

“She needs to die…” Her voice barely above a whisper and sounding as though she had just gargled nails from all the screaming she had been doing. 

“We can't lose more.”

“N'yami!” 

Looking from the aetherical form the Seeker's attention slowly turned to the new voice, and there she saw Aislinn standing on the other side of the barrier the aetherical formed had put around them to talk. 

All she could do was stare blankly at the Hyur before looking back to where her aetherical form once stood. It had vanished just within the few moments of looking away.

N'yami still held G'lewra close, but the barrier started to break into pieces, and it crumbled to the ground before mixing in with aether around her. She could hear Linn talking to her, trying to reach her, but it sounded so muffled. So far away. Her head lazily lulled to look back in Linn's direction but that's when she caught sight of Augusta carrying a limp Tynos back to the Heartwood estate, and she felt her world crumble all over again thinking that not only had she lost her mother but also the man that didn't hesitate to adopt her as his own. So lost in her own world crumbling around her N'yami didn't even notice how Riylli had stood in the background watching Linn talk the Dark Knight down.

“Alright, Yami, listen to me. I know what this looks like. Hells, I know what it feels like. Like the world’s stopped and the earth might as well open up and swallow you because you can’t see how there’s any way forward from here. Anything to stop this from being true.” Aislinn knew grief. Life had given her plenty of opportunities to get acquainted with it. She knew people liked to say it was something you got used to. Like jumping in a cold lake. But damn if it wasn’t a shock every time. “I understand but right now I need you to help me. We have to get her inside. Hey, Tynos’ll be alright. He just went and overdid it out there. But listen. You’ve gotta let me take a look at her. We don’t know for sure what’s happened and until we do we can’t give up on her. Right?”

N'yami tried to focus on Aislinn’s words, trying to hear them over the commotion happening within her mind.

“Ok…” she sounded so defeated but Yami knew she could trust Linn. She had become one of the Seeker's safe places. That rock a younger sibling needed. 

Her arms were shaking as she let go of G'lewra so Aislinn could do what was needed. While the medic worked Yami kept out of the way but kept close, without thinking Yami's hand had reached out to hold onto Linn's coat tail. She needed grounding but also wanting to stay out of the way. 

That aether.

Looking away from G'lewra and Aislinn for a second, N'yami saw the one she thought was responsible for all this. Xha stood in the yard staring at them, and all the Dark Knight did was stare the Keeper down with a murderous intent before she was pulled from her thoughts. G'lewra needed to be carried inside, and N'yami didn't hesitate to carry her mom inside for Aislinn. 

“The hunt can wait, mother needs us.”

Heading inside the clinic, N'yami placed G'lewra on one of the beds closest to Tynos. God's. He looked like shit was the first thing that went through her mind. 

She let the medics work, and stood out of the way but close enough to her parents to look after them. N'yami found herself mindlessly following Aislinn around the clinic like a duckling, clutching onto the other woman's coat when the Hyur was at a stand still.  She felt so lost. Mind numb and not knowing what to do so she latched to the next family member. 

“Oi. There you are, Yami!” 

Her head peaked out from behind Aislinn, it paid to have a taller sibling it seems, and there stood her husband Neville. There in all his smiling glory. 

“We're having a sleepover in the workshop, and I already got the kits set up. Better hurry before they take yer spot.” He was grinning the whole time while talking to her. N'yami wasn't sure how he was able to smile in such a situation or how he knew he was needed here. But before the Seeker left Linn’s side she pressed her forehead against the medics shoulder in a pathetic attempt of a headbutt, even with G'lewra gone N'yami remembered how her mother told her how Linn had issues with physical touch and to not overwhelm her with them. She wanted to show appreciation but still respect the boundaries. 

Slowly making her way towards Neville she paused for a moment before looking back at Linn, and a few tears slid down her cheeks. Not only was Yami's mom gone but so was Linn's. 

And N'yami blamed herself for not being able to keep their mom safe. 

Here she was falling apart where Linn was probably going through the same thing. How selfish she was being. 

Looking back to Neville for a moment she went to back to Linn for a moment. Her hand glowing a bright red, and when she opened her palm a flat stone almost resembling a ruby sat in the Seekers palm. But the aether that swirled within flickered between the colors of red, black, and purple. Almost mimicking a storm. 

“For when yer….overwhelmed.” N'yami's gaze shifted around as she tried to explain it in her emotional state. “I can…feel the emotions. A way to vent to me…without words if they become too hard.” 

Leaving the stone with Aislinn and returning to her husband's side she let him guide her to the workshop where her children greeted her. Falling into the pile of blankets and pillows N’yami gathered her children close to her, and of course her obsidian carbuncle Whackara that was a gift to her from her mother curled on top of her chest for pressure therapy. Neville had curled around his family to keep them close, he knew this was something N’yami needed. Thankful their wedding bands kept them connected aetherically. 

It took N’yami awhile to fall asleep, everytime she closed her eyes all she could see was her mother falling before her. 

“You need to sleep. A hunt awaits for us.” The voice returned to lull the Seeker to sleep. But the voice was right, and there was one thing that crossed N’yami’s thoughts before she finally let sleep take her.

Which target was first?

[heartwoodventures]

Heartwood had a fun All Saints Wake night! Even though the in game event was canceled didn’t mean we were going to stop being spooky, with a night filled with riddles and a game of Werewolf it seemed everyone had a good time! A costume contest was had and the winner was Aiswyda with her ‘Pine Tree’ costume!

[jancisstuff]

Dirty Work

[shadottie]

TripleCast

Stealin’ FC members to draw really cool looking spells in FFXIV >>;

[rhotanored]

A Deal

Who: A’mariss Renahg (mentions of Nazyl Tharazyl, Tynos Riller) Where: Ambiguous Ul’dahn dwelling (?) When: Several moons earlier... What: On what she assumes will be just another hunting gig, A’mariss runs afoul of some demons; new and familiar...? Why: RP shenanigans resulted in some characters being separated for an extended period of time almost immediately after some Heavy Shit, and I’ve been wanting to write some bits and pieces of Meanwhile... (and also lay some plot hooks for an eventual arc). Warnings: Some creepiness, a wee bit of implied body horror, some violence, angsty introspection.

     A'mariss was beginning to wonder if a large part of the blame for the proliferation of Voidsent shouldn't fall on the shoulders of those foolhardy enough to summon them for--of all things--entertainment. This was not the first time in the first few moons following her impromptu position as the only active hunter at Heaven Can Wait that she'd found herself in the extravagant foyer of one of the well-to-do under the pretense they'd found themselves with a certain-kind-of-mess that required her very specific skill-set.

    Or Nazyl's, she thought (and not without a grimace that belied yet how fresh the wound of his absence is, though it's swiftly masked), but she can no longer deny that word of mouth concerning her own successful hunts had been making the rounds, much to her chagrin. Still, that she had been asked for by name had come as a surprise, and she wasn't certain it was a welcome one. While it was true she'd undertaken the hunt of Voidsent as a way to find purpose again (in brief; there was a tangled, complicated knot of feelings tied up in her motivations), she wasn't sure she wanted the particular kind of infamy that came along with supposed-expertise in the field.

    Exhaling quietly into the empty hall, A'mariss decided that was quite enough introspection. She'd been kept waiting for nearly half a bell, with nary a sign of life following the singular attendant that had seen her in; a steely-eyed Lalafell of little patience and fewer words, particularly after she'd announced the reason for her visit. A gently folded missive was still clutched in one hand, which she'd used as proof of intent, and her pallid green gaze lowered to the broken signet that had served to seal the letter in wax; an iron trellis overgrown by thorny vines.

    It was not unlike the one she’d passed under on her way through the front gates; she’d been rather taken aback to see such an attempt at greenery cultivated within Ul’dah--attempt, she’d thought, as it had been rather unsuccessful. The garden, while designed with all manner of intricate stonework, full plant beds, and what may have been a try at topiary art were all either dead or dying. The fountain that stood as a centerpiece in copper was green and black, weathered with age and abraded from the desert storms that inevitably blew sandy detritus into the city proper, regardless of how well its denizens attempted to sweep.

    Dark sand had gathered in every unattended corner and filled every crack in the grimy cobblestones that laid the path towards the manor, and A’mariss had felt a chill crawl down her spine as she’d waited on the doorstep, shrouded in the shadow of the house darker than what she would have expected from that time of day.

    She shook her head briefly, frowning as she likewise shook off her reflections of what had brought her to this manse with another glance at the missive in her hand.

To My Most Esteemed Huntress, the letter began in a thick, practiced script.

While under normal circumstances, were I you receiving such a letter, would I find myself most unimpressed by a request such as mine being made only by missive. Nevertheless, I must needs extend to you an invitation to join me at my estate. Directions have been provided to your Namazu attendant under the strictest of confidence. 

Pray understand I desire nothing more than to explain all the sordid details of my predicament, but it must be done face to face. Trust that it is explicitly your skills— nay, you, A’mariss, that I have need of.

I await your arrival.

    There was a signature beneath the final line, one practiced and as presentably illegible as A’mariss imagined most intricate signatures were--but she hadn’t been able to make heads or tails of the name it represented. True to the details within the missive, however, Gyosho had been given directions--and that was all. The Namazu could hardly recollect who had handed over the missive (one of the tall races, which meant little) where he had retained the instructions perfectly, which A’mariss found increasingly suspect the longer she waited in the gloomy lobby.

    Just as she reached the limits of her patience (she’d also begun to reconsider coming at all; reflecting on all that had transpired to bring her here made her acknowledge the niggling uncertainty clawing at the back of her mind) and rose to her feet to make for the heavy wood doors through which she’d entered, she heard a long, low, creaaak towards the other end. Another door--one she hadn’t noticed before and certainly not the same that the Lalafellin attendant had vanished through earlier--swung open. A frown tugged on her lips as her ears flattened against her hair when it appeared, after a long moment of waiting, that there was no one on the other side.

    That was when she felt it; the subtle tug of Calling, like something had hooked itself beneath her sternum and began to pull. The strength of it startled her, and the sensation left her breathless. It wasn’t quite the first time she’d felt it since she’d aided the others in their defeat of Gamigin, but every time it had manifested since, it seemed more, somehow. Now, it pulled her straight towards the door that now stood open, and more than that, towards whatever--whoever--lay beyond it. 

    At first A’mariss resisted, swallowing uncomfortably as her gaze fell on her exit out of the estate, but she felt the scraping within her chest becoming more insistent, causing her to suck in a breath to steel herself, and her hand tightened on the missive under her grasp.

    Beneath her grip, the letter--suddenly dry and brittle as though it had aged through the cycles--crumbled to little more than a pile of dust, fluttering in ashy shards of parchment to the carpet at her feet. The two halves of the wax signet bounced off the polished wood floor, each vanishing in wisps of reddish smoke.

    Hells, she thought, tearing her gaze from the floor back to where the door stood open, and a more insistent pull clawed across her ribs. She reached an arm back to brush along the haft of the Lanetli Arzu that rested across her shoulder, and while the bow offered no noticeable response, she was comforted by its familiar presence.

    Against her better judgment, but unable to deny the Call, A’mariss approached the open door, peering down the long, shadowed corridor beyond. Motes of dust were caught in dull, narrow streams of daylight that squeezed through the tattered remnants of heavy, moldering drapes. The wooden flooring beneath her feet creaked and groaned as she crossed the threshold into the hallway, leaving obvious footsteps through layers of undisturbed dirt and dust that layered over old, ratty carpeting and hardwood both.

    She felt distinctly like an intruder, here, despite the apparent invitation. Conveniently, as it was wont to do, the tug behind her sternum had grown still, leaving A’mariss to flounder in determining its true purpose. Each step carried her further into the hallway, passing heavy wooden door after heavy wooden door as she went, each lined with a bizarre array of locks, bolts, chains and knobs randomly placed from top to bottom. She reached for one of the wrought iron handles, but it was unyielding in her grip. She couldn’t even get the door to rattle against its frame.

    A thunderous--BANG!--from behind her made her yelp, the strangled sound the only thing that made its way out of her throat where her heart had leapt. The door she’d come through had apparently slammed behind her, manhandled by some unseen force--and something skittered into the shadows at the edges of her periphery. She whirled to track it, but other than the soft motes of dust dancing in lazy circles between shards of muted daylight, she saw no movement from one end of the hall to the murky shadows at the other.

    “Show yourself!” She demanded, her voice carrying the weight of her command without an onze of the fear that fluttered in her breast, and a flicker of pride momentarily outweighed it. This was nothing she hadn’t faced before. Gamigin had thrown at her the worst horrors of her life--so far, her thoughts whispered--and she would stand and face whatever haunted this particular manor. Nothing answered her, however, save her heartbeat pounding in her ears, and an oppressive silence. Though there were windows, no sound from the streets presumably beyond reached her, here.

    Having held her breath and strained to make out any additional noise to no avail, A’mariss exhaled slowly, her gaze trailing down into the deeper gloom at the opposite end of the hallway where she thought she’d seen that shadowy apparition vanish. With the way back now closed (and her with no desire to confirm her suspicions that she’d been trapped, if only for the sake of her nerves), she began to make her way in the only directly left to her.

    The source of the additional shadows, she discovered, were far more mundane than she’d anticipated; a heavy, velvet drapery hung across the open threshold. Pieces of the fabric crumbled under her touch as she tried to brush it aside, and a heavy chunk simply collapsed at her feet into a plume of moldy spores and dust. She reeled back, one hand clasping over her mouth and nose in an effort to spare her lungs the threat, but she’d already inhaled a cloying breath in her surprise. She coughed, wrinkling her nose as she stepped over the fallen curtain and used her other hand to brush aside some low-hanging cobwebs, only to stop abruptly as she nearly bumped straight into the Lalafellin butler that had left her in the lobby earlier.

    ...Only now, he wore a horrifyingly familiar jester’s get-up.

    Then, in an erratic flicker, he was gone. If the apparition hadn’t been enough to make her heart leap back into her throat, the sudden raucous cacophony of a discordant organ being played jubilantly from the stage at the far end of the room was. It was also enough to make her anger overtake her fear.

    Finally, her hands flew back to draw her bow and nock one of her arrows in a single fluid motion, letting fly one in a streak of brilliance towards the noise; the pipes she struck jangled in a final, agonizing note as a jagged screech of laughter echoed through the room. Her ears swiveled and flicked to-and-fro in an attempt to track it, though she had an inkling it was fruitless; mundane senses would not avail her here.

    “Show yourself!” She demanded for the second time this evening, and the laughter quieted into a thoughtful hum.

    The dim, natural light across the open, dilapidated ballroom (heavily curtained with ratty drapes and alight with dusty motes much like the hallway that had led here) darkened with shadows encroaching from every corner of the room, growing like a heavy fog. All at once the room brightened suddenly, as several massive chandeliers dangling from the ceiling ignited with purple flames--and abruptly extinguished, plunging the room into full, absolute pitch.

    But not before the afterimage of a rotting white mask had teased across her vision.

    Baring her teeth, A’mariss drew back the Lanetli Arzu and conjured another of her radiant arrows, which only served to illuminate her; it was as though she stood in a black void, without form or direction. She could feel the cracked marble tile of the ballroom’s flooring beneath her feet, however, so she knew she hadn’t been moved anywhere. Unless the illusion was far more elaborate than she thought, at any rate.

    “Enough! Gamigin is destroyed, by mine hand and others’. His false visage holds no power over me now, just as it held no power over me when we slew him,” she growls, steeling herself with the memory of Yuyuta’s incinerating blow.

    “So confident,” a voice whispers at her ear, and she whirls in that direction, pointing her bow into the unchanging blackness.

    “Ş̷͍̲̻̒̂ó̵͖͓̉̏ certain,̸̫͋̌̈͝ͅ” it says again, from over her other shoulder, and her reflexes fire her nocked arrow. It cuts through the darkness, revealing a sliver of the ballroom beyond before the shadows swallow it again.

    “S̸̛̈́̌̃͊̀̔͘õ̷̸̝̭̍̒̏̔̓̈́̇̕ un̶͚͗̑̿a̶͚̘̬̠̎̒̀͒͆͐͂̀̋sh̸̲̤͉̭̼͉̗̿́̎́̇͑̓̀̿͘͜ͅa̸̠̠͙͋͌͌̏͆̄͑̃̔͗͘m̵̠͉͍͛͑͊͛͑̎̀͑͐͠ë̴̫͎̫͓͝ď̵́̓̒̃͛͘͠,” and this time she senses it behind her, a trill of shivers running straight down her spine, every hair standing up at the back of her neck. Hastily, her free hand makes the motion of a spell, her claws igniting with the same radiance as her earlier arrow as she spins to rake the Voidsent behind her.

    Her wrist is caught in a vice-like grip, halted ilms away from the lined fabric of an expensive suit-coat--or what might have passed for one, were the material not sour-smelling and rotted like the rest of the contents of the estate.

    “A̵̧̡̳̒̀nd̸̗́̿̅ ̸͍͓̦̥̎̿̀͛s̸͈͎̞͒ö̴͔̻̟́ͅ ̷̰̿̐͝q̸̧̻̺̪̊̉̽́uĩ̷͕͎͑͠c̷̝̠͚̐͋͑͘k ̶̡̤̖̭̾̐̓t̷̜̏ǫ̶̺̤̦̊ ̶̡̯͓̭̈v̵̨̈ì̷͔̣̼̔͐ol̵͖͗̚͠en̵̩͌c̷̡̪̗̖͆͆̑e,̷̨̻̠̉,” the voice purrs, and she realises the curious double-intonation she’d been hearing comes from two mouths speaking in tandem; one where a mouth should be and the other a shark-toothed maw splitting the underside of an ashen, Elezen jawline. A’mariss struggled to wrench her arm free from the creature who had her in its grip, but a resounding--crash!!--behind her makes her jump, whirling as--crash!!--one-by-one the four--crash!!--chandeliers she’d seen earlier fall to the--crash!!--ballroom floor. They scatter shards of glass, gold candelabra and purple-lit candles (half extinguished in the fall) all across the room, dispelling the immediate darkness in favor of eerily dancing, flickering shadows.

    A’mariss tugged her arm yet again with a growing sense of urgency (not that her heart wasn’t already thundering while her every instinct screamed at her to run), and if the second mouth grinning toothily at her hadn’t been enough of an indication, a perfectly beaked nose was the last (and perhaps only) remaining feature that was remotely Elezen. The Voidsent had no eyes to speak of; instead twisting, spiraling black branches seemed to extend from where his cheekbones ought to have begun, reaching randomly and ceaselessly toward the ceiling, though where the branches ended and their shadows stretched out, A’mariss was hard-pressed to tell.

    “N̷̜̏̈́̉͘ow̵̧̤̯̃̆̓,̶̳̬͙̍́ ̵̪̾̔̓̄͜ǹ̸̢̨̲̩́͐ò̸͕̜͉̘͗́͗w,̵̲̽̄͐̅ ̵͕̜̪͍͒͂́no̵̟͂͝ͅẅ̶̝́͆̈́,̶̢̩̅̌̎̍” the Voidsent said, finally releasing her arm as it took a step forward and she, a step back towards the purple fire, which was quickly spreading, consuming the draperies as it went.

    “There are much better ways for us to parley. We only thought to celebrate your victory over ol’Gamigin,” the top mouth speaks on its own, drawing A’mariss’s gaze away from the fire.

    “T̸͖̖̳͒͜hou̴̗̮̝͖͑͑̌gȟ̴̞͎̝̺ ̴͓̗́̓͛i̴̘̊̿t ̵̙̩̅͜dep̸̞̀͛̂͜͜r̸͔̠͛̉̽iv̵̮̼͎̻̔͂ed̷̲͌̓̈́͘ ̸̛̩̊̐̒us̶͍̰̯̼̑̈́ ̵͕̾ȯ̸͇͒f ̶̠͠a̵̖̪͠ ̷͓̺̻͖̉̇̎me̷̫̰̞̍a̶̢̗̺̓l,̴̯̠̆̓” the second maw continues, “iṱ̴͉̍́̕͜ ̵̩̮̙͓̈́̋̚͠g̵̗͖͊̑͝ave ̷̣̤͌̐̽͜us̸̢̓̓͘ ̶̝͇̒s̴̞̗̖̈́͗o̴mȩ̸͔̤͉͊̊͗͘t̷̛̞̮̟́̚͜hi̵͑͜͠͝ņ̸̿̅͠g̴͖̜̾͛̋̎ ̵̥͔̓͝b̵̛̰̻͒̎et̸̛̖̑̓͂te̸̢͆r.”

    A’mariss’s tail falls limp behind her, the lion’s tip tufted up and flicking in agitation behind her. She didn’t like where this was going. The Voidsent “watched” her intently, leaning inwards, as though waiting for her to prompt it to explain; eventually, its head tweaked unsettlingly left, and its mouths made a little tsking noise.

    “You, of course. A’mariss. A’mariss. Ă̶̝̤͆͝ ̵̮̺͋̆̍̔̾̒’̷͚͐́́͂͆ ̶̙͙̞͝m ̴̨̛͈̌͆̑̇̉̀̚a̸͎͐͗ ̵͔̅͗̄͑̍͝r̸̉͆̂̀ ̵̧̣̳̱̬́ì̷̡̠̻̩̉͋̌͊͋̀́ ̷͈̭͐̅͝s ̴̗͍̈́̎͝͠s̷̛͉͖̈́̔͂̋̈́̂.” Every hair on her body stood seemingly on-end as it intoned her name, almost like a chant. It leaned towards her once again and she took another step back, only for the Voidsent to flicker erratically and vanish from view. She whirled, smoke from the flames now wreathing the entire room, and at the center behind her waited the Voidsent, one black hand extended towards her. 

W̵͈͊ė̸͔͍'̶͍̃r̴̫͎͕̣̒ę̵̺̹͙̐̈́ ̸̣̚b̴͚̑͠ou̸͙͍͖̽̂̆͠n̶̡͍̳̏̈́d,

                                    W̸̢̧͖̠̞͇̗̟̲͕̤̪̦̜̙̙̘̜͈̳̦̰̲̣̉̔͗͆̔̽̏͛̓͗͒͗̍͌̽͘͝ẻ̵͔̻̩̳͖͙̈́͑̾̿̋͝͝'̶̨̡̡̧̛̛̯̻̞͓͍̘̱̲͇̻̼̳̘̮̞̜̭̦̱͕̝͙̤͓̙̓̈̾͌̈́͆͗̀͒̐́̕͝ͅre̷̢̧̬̯͚̪̝̥̮͙̹̲̤͙̠̦̭͚͔͈̮͐̔͋͑͌̍̎̄͐̚̚͝͝ ̶͍͖̽̉̋͆̇́̆̉̇̀̌̓̕̚ĭ̵̢̺͚̥̙̥̞͔̠̔̈̾̓͂͋̒̇̐̓̇̓̍̂͌̓͑̒̾̋̍͘͘͘̚̕͘͜͝ͅne̶̛͑͐͂́̍̒́̑͗̊͆rt,                         Ẅ̴̠́ê̷̻'̷̬͌r̶e ̶͎͠h̶̬͋a̶͝rm̷͇̃le̴̢̔ș̵̌s̶̝̓,

                W̵̡̠̦̹͖͘e'̴̗̻̰̈́̚̚̚͝͝ŕ̷̘͕̈́̂͂̀͠e̷̟̟͈̩̦̽̉͜ ̴̜̦̲͆t̴̡́͌́̇̈́r̸̙͛̿͑ap̵̛͙͙͑̽̾p̸̻̳̼͒͘ͅed̸̙͛,

                                                     Wḙ̸͍̦̩͕͚͍̣̪̝͚̰̘̳̖̻̞̆'̷̝͊̄̇́̈́͋͛͆̇̿́̊̈̈͊̑̿́̿̉̀͝re ̴̨̢͚̪͇͓͐̄͌̒̋̌̔̓̃̚H̸͎̠́͛̐͊̐̄͒̈́̀̽͂̒́̅̏͌͊͒̕͘͘U̴̡͎̮̬͍͓͉̝͕͊͒͛͒̔͗̊̓̈́͌̍̒̍̚NGR̴̨̨̠͙̤̠̼͔͉̬̬̦̼̲͉͉̬̀̊̿̉̀̐͋̚͜ͅY̷̢̨̡̳̻͔̻̖͕͙̙̙̪̞͑̀̈͊̆͌͗͝͝ͅͅ!

                                                                         ...we are so very, very hungry.” 

    A’mariss’s jaw fell partially agape; she could feel the yearning in every word, freedom, freedom, freedom, freedom pounding in her skull like an incessant ringing, and the pull within her chest returned with a sudden vengeance. The creature’s outstretched hand was like a rod, and she the helpless fish hooked on its line as it slowly reeled her in. Her bow clattered to the ground like an afterthought as the creature arranged the hand that had been holding it against its shoulder, and held the other firmly as it took her by the waist and began to dance them through the smoldering ballroom.

    “We want to make a deal, A’mariss,” she jerked; those words meant something, but--the room spun and she spun with it, as its voice cooed soothingly into her ear.

    “No, no. Do not misunderstand us, my dear. We would serve you. Willingly,” it paused, its lips pressed against her ear; there was no maw filled with teeth in her periphery, just an ashen throat, bared almost in submission.

    “Loyally,” it purred, “and we would never forget you.” 

    “You could save us.” Could she? It seemed like they had stopped spinning, but A’mariss’s vision was still churning. She closed her eyes against the flickering shadows and growing flames, tucking her cheek against the creature’s striped suit; why had she thought he smelled sour? It was all warmth as she breathed him in, like cloves and allspice and the heady musk from a Bloodglider’s wing.

    “Change us.” Like Bloodgliders.

    “Free us.” Like home.

    A’mariss’s eyes snapped open as she wrenched herself free from the Voidsent’s grasp, stumbling to her hands and knees as the last vestiges of the enthrallment released her, awareness returning with an almost painful clarity. She found herself coughing; the room was almost wholly engulfed in flame, a small ring around the pair the only area untouched. Flames had consumed all the drapes and were making quick work of the ceiling as they rolled along it in waves. On the other side of the room, a support beam collapsed in a shower of pink sparks.

    “No.” A’mariss croaked, and as she reached out, her hand closed around the haft of the Lanetli Arzu as though it had never left her in the first place.

    The Voidsent roared; something inarticulate with rage. As she was staggering to her feet, the creature’s arm--or black, glittering branches?--lashed out to close around her throat, lifting her clean off the floor.

    “N̘͈̼͕͈̥͉͔̾͢O̬̳͉̙̬̓͐ͣ̊̒?̠͉͂ͫͤ͡ IIt boomed, its maw opening wide. 

    “Ņ̢̰̗̤ͣ̃̽͌͛ͦ̉͂̓̾̚̚O̢̨̤̥͔͆ͧ́ͩͥ̑̀͐̑ͪ́͑͟? ͨ͗ͮ̿̔NƠ̆ͦ͗ͮ҉̷̡̛̗̟͚?̯͒ͪ̂̑͐̓͂̅ͣ̊͜ ͍̜̫̊̎͆́̇̍ͬ͜Ň̬̗͌͋̌̀͝O?̹̰̙̦̗̜͙̑̾̍͌͞͡͞͠͞ͅ” It repeated over, and over, and over again, breathing hot, rank breath from its split maw directly into her face. She nearly gagged, but it held her throat tight enough that she could no more gag than she could breathe. Tears streamed from her eyes, her free hand grappling and tearing at the branch that held her to no avail; for every layer of supple, black bark that came away beneath her claws, there only seemed more.

    The Lanetli Arzu vibrated so strongly in her grasp that it was all she could do to hold onto it; she could feel herself fading as the Voidsent continued to roar, and the flames seemed to join it. Distantly, she could feel herself raking her claws across her own knuckles until the blood ran against the haft of her bow; aether surged from her and into the weapon, and the heat that shot up her arm was almost more searing than the choking heat of the room. Brilliant, blinding white light ignited behind the creature that had grabbed her; she could no longer discern its true shape beyond the shadows and endless grasping black branches, but a myriad of radiant arrows burst through its center mass and tore through the arms that were holding her.

    A’mariss landed hard, wheezing, and felt an oily lump pressed against her windpipe. Try as she might, swallowing did nothing to shake the sensation and only left her near-to choking. She slid back across the floor as the violet flames began to catch on the branches of the Voidsent. It still roared wordlessly at her, limbs flailing as it struggled to tear free of the brilliant arrows that had partially pinned it in place; they would not hold it forever. Somehow, she drew in enough of a breath to force herself to her feet. She leaped through the shallow wall of violet flame, hardly even feeling the heat as she raced wildly back the way she’d come.

    All the doors were open, now; the one that had blocked her path at the end of the hallway had collapsed outwards. She could feel the heat at her back as she stumbled into the foyer, forced her weak knees to keep going as she burst through the front door, leaped down the steps, and raced beyond the black iron trellis that had welcomed her so ominously earlier. Only once she was in the cobbled street did she turn to look back where she had fled; there was no sign of Voidsent, nor fire, nor the shadows she had been fleeing. There was only a terrifying emptiness, a sense of nothing that remained, like the hollow feeling of a thread snapping where she hadn’t realized one had been.

    Trembling, she turned her gaze down to the bow in her hand. It looked no worse for wear, though it seemed to hum with a note of desperation. Her other hand rose to her throat, feeling the lump--several lumps--pressed just beneath the skin. Panic gripped her as she felt one of them give a gentle twitch beneath her fingers. Her mind raced to find someone, anyone she could go to; she bowed over her knees in an attempt to slow her breathing, feeling (not for the first time) the loss of Nazyl most keenly. He would have known what to do.

    Bereft of other options, one other name rose to mind, and he was nearby. Tynos. If there was anyone else who could help her before it was too late--it was him. She looped the Lanetli Arzu over her shoulder, and began to walk, pausing near a street sign to get her bearing. If her panic-stricken memory was right, it was only a short walk towards the Goblet--and hopefully her salvation.

      ...Then she could attempt to process all that she’d just encountered.

[pocketninja-ffxiv]

A relaxing evening on the shores of Shirogane, the two Scholars who study different magics could agree on one thing. The love they hold for one another.

[pocketninja-ffxiv]

The day has come where the two aetherical tethers will become one, continuing life together to go on plenty more adventures and share their awful puns with one another. 

[pocketninja-ffxiv]

Little family get together at the Riller household, some more eager to come while others have to be convinced. It’s totally not the only Keeper in the little circle. 

[pocketninja-ffxiv]

[pocketninja-ffxiv]

Tynervial Rillveroix shrugged," I haven't really started doing the dig down planning yet to be fair.. we talked a bit about colors and such.. but.. that is the next hurdle.. after we speak a bunch.. sure.. And you are now officially in charge of being the person who brings weapons to the wedding...  As that is normally me." "Do I get a fancy title for this?" Nyscera asked.

"Would you like a fancy title..?"

 "I would like a fancy title yes as your sister I believe I deserve one." Tynervial Rillveroix paused and rubbed his chin thinking, and then tilting his head,' How about.. Head of personal affairs and lady of the guard.."

 "That's a long title but I accept."

"You can use either one.. I was just suggesting or the other.." Tynos stared at her, "Wait.. you just want both don't you."

"Of course I want both, my brother is getting married and it's about gods damn time. When the hells am I going to get this chance again? Never, that's when. Arch is married, you're getting married, I don't have anyone else on my list."

Tynos sighed, "Cept when yer kids get married, I'm sure you'll be there for those.. if you let any of them date that is .."

"They can date when I die."

[pocketninja-ffxiv]

“You do swim, do you not?”

“Oh, I swim pretty girl... Pr-Pretty *good*, pretty good. Sw... Good. Swim good. Pretty good. I swim pretty good.”

Movie: Atlantis