#also the trophy??? the detail on that beast??

[wisyhana]

Destructionshipping Monster Tamer AU

So here are some of the drawings from this AU and a little summary of what is about and how is the story going (it's still a work in process so I'd probably change a few details in the future):

It's basically about Yugi (half elf), Jonou (human), Seto (elf) and Atem (human) as beast tamers all set in a fantasy world. Each of them protects their own region, they're in charge to prevent any monster from disturbing the life of people. They're not hunters, they work to take those beasts and return them back to their lands. Sometimes they keep some beasts as pets (Jonou), partners (Yugi and Atem), even trophies (Seto) 

All starts when Seto shares some information about the movement of a peculiar dragon, one of its kind that had entered Yugi's territory. No beast tamer want to deal with that dragon since it's known for its destructive power. All the tales talk about Gandora being a powerful type of dragon that even managed to bring itself to extintion, a single of its kind is enough to be considered a problem. So having the last Gandora wandering around is enought to concern a whole region.  Seto only cares about its region and doesn't want to get involve, especially when is about a dragon that can instantly kill/destroy everything, so he only 'wishes luck' to Yugi and see if he can survive Gandora's visit. Jonou feels uncapable of helping but encourage Yugi to find a way to lead Gandora out. Of course Yugi is very curious about this dragon and wants to find out more of em.   

Yugi here moves more around his own curiosity more than other thing, as the games in Duel Monster, he can't reject a new game as he can't reject a lone dragon. He investigates and travels to where Gandora is staying: a really dark and dried base of a volcano. It takes a lot for Yugi to find Gandora, he has to go through caves and burnt forests to find the lair of the dragon, who apparently is very awared of Yugi's presence. Gandora tries to kill Yugi MANY times, but Yugi always manage to escape and come back later to study em and find a way to win his trust. Yugi speaks to Gandora noticing that the dragon is capable of understand more than other dragons he knew.

Since Yugi's way too into studying Gandora's behavior he kinda let his region a little aside, so things don't go so well since he's so invested in 'his quest' as Yugi constantly talks about the dragon. Also Gandora doesn't just chill and relax, he slowly destroys the forest that goes around the volcano he's living in, causing monsters to leave and invade human territory. This concerns Jonou (and Seto as well but he's a bitch) and they try to persuade Yugi to shoo Gandora away in some way and protect his land as he should. But big hearted Yugi wants to know what makes Gandora so angry. Eventually Jonou sends a message to Atem and consults him for support.  Atem is a peacemaker and he belongs to no land, he's a traveller that helps people and monsters to keep at peace. He visit the guys in time to time but not really often.

Yugi tries to confront Gandora in some way, almost dying in the process, but he can't calm down Gandora. The boy finds himself failing to his quest, which makes him burst into tears apologizing to Gandora for not being able to help him. In all this time Gandora just acts as a furious beast, but somehow understands when Yugi apologize to him. 

There's no much time to talk when Yugi notices that Atem shows up, he sees Yugi badly wounded and decides is time to take action. Of course Yugi doesn't want him to interfer, but Atem is more concern about him than peace between them. Also Atem kinda scolds Yugi for prioritizing a giant dragon than his own people. So Atem calls for Osiris that's enough to intimidate every beast, but Gandora is stupid and even tries to fight them back. Yugi begs Gandora to leave and this one finally listens to him and flee. Yugi isnt necessarily angry at Atem but his words sure hurt him and there was no more Gandora.... for the moment.

So that's all for now, I'm looking forward to turn Atem into an anti-villain type of character, I like a lot the idea of Yugi and Atem finding themselves disagreeing for the first time and seeing them defending their own ideals. 

Of course all resolves around Gandora finally trusting in Yugi, but it'll take me a few more drawings to explain it! 

[gallifreyanhotfive]

Random Doctor Who Facts You Might Not Know, Part 54

The last two bullets contains details from the most recent Ninth Doctor boxset, specifically Swipe Right and Archipelago. Please scroll past them if you don't want to see them. :)

By some accounts, Bruce Springsteen served as United States President in the early 2000s. (Novel: Interference - Book One)

An incredibly dangerous mutation in the Daleks that threatened the whole universe started when a Dalek was stung by a wasp. (Audio: The Mutant Phase)

While in Paris, the Seventh Doctor observed the Fourth Doctor, Romana, and Duggan, and he picked up a picture of Romana when his Fourth dropped it. This picture would later be found by Anji Kapoor and later his Eighth. The Eighth Doctor could not remember who it was because he had been having memory problems at the time but kept the picture anyway. (Short story: Notre Dame du Temps)

The Fifth Doctor accidentally killed the entire Scintillan race because he couldn't see them. (Audio: Omega)

The Toymaker trapped the Spice Girls in "Spice Up Your Life." (Novel: The Giggle)

The Tenth Doctor’s sonic screwdriver ended up in San Juan after being discarded in Leadworth. Charlie Sato had stolen it from some aliens and was on the run, and while doing so, he ran into the Eighth Doctor. Thus, the Tenth Doctor’s sonic screwdriver eventually ended up in a drawer in the Eighth Doctor’s TARDIS. (Audio: The Turn of the Screw)

The Shalka Doctor had fallen in love with the President's daughter, but she had been killed by an alien race with nearly all the other Time Lords. While the other Time Lords had their memories stored in the Matrix, the President's daughter was truly dead. (TV: Scream of the Shalka; Short story: Doctor Who - The Ninth Doctor)

The Tenth Doctor can recall hunting werewolves with Jane Austen. He remembers that she was unusually sadistic, kept trophies from her victims, and was able to wrestle a werewolf without staining her lace. They also dealt with a vampire countess and an assassin in a similar style. The Doctor would have invited her on board the TARDIS if she didn't terrify him. (Audio: Expiry Dating)

Before Erimem became a proper companion, the Fifth Doctor intended to drop her off at the Braxiatel Collection. (Audio: The Church and the Crown)

After the events of The Giggle, the Toymaker is biding his time and waiting for his next game. (Novel: The Giggle)

By some accounts, the Valeyard "splintered" from the Doctor at some point prior to his final regeneration and thus cannot regenerate himself. (Audio: Every Dark Thought)

The Fifteenth Doctor once tried to take Ruby to a night of partying at the Scandi Superclub, where Avicii, Loreen, and Måns Zelmerlöw are members, but the TARDIS instead materialized in the 19th century. They ran into Hans Christian Andersen. (Comic: The Hans of Fear)

Stew Ferguson was a milkman who witnessed Rose Tyler's appearance in The Stolen Earth. He eventually became a cleaner and then witnessed the Fourteenth Doctor materialize in his TARDIS. (Novel: The Star Beast)

The Ninth Doctor is aromantic and aspec!!! (Audio: Swipe Right)

River Song recognized the Doctor’s Gladstone bag as a gift from Gillian and John. (Audio: Archipelago) And by that she means Gillian and John Who!!!!!

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[katyspersonal]

So I literally just saw an interpretation of a Bloodborne boss on youtube, Mergo’s Wet Nurse specifically, and said interpretation is that of an empty mother fixating on an available baby. I don’t wholeheartedly believe that was the intention behind the damn thing, but what is your take on this Nazgul Crow Hybrid?

( @izunias-meme-hole )

Oh well! To be honest, this is not an unreasonable assumption, since Wet Nurse is herself a Great One, as proven by the trophy after defeating her, and we know how that goes :p

(Just heads up because you are probably not familiar with my style of Bloodborne lore posts, I always use raw text from retranslation guide by Last Protagonist ( x ) to not lose any nuance! If only we could have the same for other Soulsborne games... т.т)

I, on the other hand, think that her capturing Mergo had a different connotation! A wet nurse is a person that (breast)feeds an infant instead of their mother for one reason or another, and in this case we can't tell the specifics of how she is nurturing Mergo, only that she does! As description above states, the creation of Nightmare of Mensis is doing of Mergo, so, in this case, Wet Nurse is nurturing this pocket of the Nightmare itself! As for her motivation to do so? There is an easily missed dialogue in Fishing Hamlet:

Victims in there are praying to "bloodless ones" to curse the hunters on behalf of Kos and her baby, so, "bloodless ones" whoever they might be have the power over Nightmare Realm somehow! Perhaps, the Hunter's Nightmare was not the curse of Kos at all? But rather, answer to the curses:

And here is the thing:

Wet Nurse herself is the bloodless Great One! All of them bleed either 'paleblood', normal red blood, or both! Off the top of my head, another instance of spilling ash instead of blood are Keepers of the Old Lords. And there is more to it:

She has internal name 'Lesser Demon of Death and Darkness'! (Internal names from this ( x ) page) I am not quite sure whether this means that there is THE crow-like Great One of bigger importance and she is only one of the lesser ones, or it refers to the fact that she doesn't 'own' the Nightmare Realm but is only one of the inhabitants, like Amygdalae. Maybe it is both! 'Darkness' seems to refer to Nightmare Realm, after all!

Her being crow-like Great One is also an important detail, as there is superstition/belief in Old Hunters (and Yharnamites in general?) that crows have connection with another realm and can deliver the souls of the deceased in Hell or Heaven! So, I think that Wet Nurse is either one of the crow-like Great Ones doing this sort of judgement, or THE crow being of all crows x)

......and I had this idea long before I touched Dark Souls with ten yards stick, but now I am convinced that her crow theme has to do with themes of justice. xD She might be an Eldrich Velka, or at least someone close in importance!!

Wet Nurse is also an interesting Great One because she is weirdly Pthumerian with humanoid build, her weapons and style, sharing a duplication spell with Queen Yharnam and accessories! My idea on why it is is that she "descended" to Pthumerians once in an attempt to help them, and they taught her their culture and how to function closer to their plane. And what she did was sacrificing her fire to grant Pthumerians their pyromancy abilities, so they could survive the scourge of beasthood and other curses they inflicted:

She had no blood, but she had fire! I will link my other post about how it seems that Nightmare Realm was once set ablaze ( x ), but this is where I think Pthumerians gained their pyromancy, the fire within THEIR blood! Wet Nurse didn't believe that ALL humanity (Pthumerity? xD) deserved curses and death over sins of just a group (and these headcanons are for another day but yes I have the full map of what exactly happened in Loran and others).

So, now her attitude seems to have taken the turn to the worse, because Mensis Ritual guarantees that scourge of hunt and beasts (for most people) or insanity (for the 'insightful' ones) will never end no matter what is done:

It is an easily missed bit but yeah, as long as Mergo is active, "just stopping drinking that yeeyee ass blood" will NOT save Yharnam! I always compare it with the sort of sound-wave that cannot be heard (here because of Rom's concealment... until later) but yet still effects everyone in its range physically!

My current explanation as to why Wet Nurse now nurtures a curse for everyone is because of her wrath at humanoids (humans, still-living Pthumerians and mixed species like Vilebloods) not having learned from the history! It was one thing when humanoids made a huge mistake when they were still young, but all these Old Hunters and Tomb Prospectors and clerics and scholars had ALL information in the world to learn what happened and what to not mess with, and what did they do? RIGHT, they decided to repeat the EXACT SAME MISTAKES, hoping that THIS time it will turn out different and they "got it" fdsjfdhsfsdh

So, as a Great One, she thinks on a different plane that maybe involves expecting too much from humanoids. Or maybe she is right to give up all hope on us..? Funny enough, this unites her with Micolash who basically went "fuck you noobs I am out" on humanity as a concept XD

In short yeah, I think that this is her motivation to hold onto Mergo: to nurture them, and thus nurture the curse. I am considering the idea that sacrificing her fire as Hellish Crow ensured she could not have children now, so since she did that for Pthumerians and Pthumeru Ihyll was the center of it, Mergo was sort of a promised "compensation". Like, maybe they agreed that one day Queen Yharnam will offer her baby to her and since Wet Nurse is a 'demon' it of course would not be by pleasant means. It is fair price for survival of their species, no? :p I am just not sure whether I want to press the 'demon' part more or the 'crow-like god of justice and judgement' more. Just as always, it can be both!

________________________

Bonus: I like the idea for her name being Idola!

"Idola will be the judge!" is a strange line, considering there is otherwise no mention of anyone like that! But if we follow theme about the crows being connected with judgement, and Wet Nurse herself is 1) a crow-like Great One and 2) a "bloodless one" who CAN answer prayers for revenge/curse/justice/etc, why not her?

Again, maybe 'Eldrich Velka' as I call this is another being of much bigger importance who IS Idola, and Wet Nurse is just a lesser servant (?) of that being, but why not place the context on the character who IS here rather than someone never seen!

[n0phis]

alright boys. big post incoming.

DISCLAIMER: it is 3am upon writing this all down and i am also not a writer

–

i’m gonna start with the more lore-based stuff and add the little physical details as they come! so let’s fuckin explain this, shall we

in the world of this design/my personal hc techno isn’t so much the blood god as he is his champion and/or successor of some sort! partially through birth but in a fated sort of way, where he was just inevitably going to achieve the things required of the champion within his lifetime and thus was blessed from a relatively young age without need for some monumental trial. the blood god’s mantle was granted– the cape he wears– and is of a beast that was essentially the manifested will of the blood god. now i do want to say that i’m unsure whether a lot of techno’s physical features also came from the blessing or if he was born with them; i’m leaning towards born with them to an extent, and imagine him as a similar/same species to that of schlatt and tubbo in my hc! nondescript, varying ungulate features with techno only being half blooded (and lacking the strange sclera & tusks initially, as those do fit with the blessing).

before i get into what the mantle does i’ll talk about the beast itself, because i absolutely fucking love it it’s my squinkly little mythic pig

tales of the boar describe it as a hulking, monstrous creature that could dwarf any hoglin and was covered head to toe in blood-red, serrated quills; suffice to say the mantle itself implies it was more likely to have simply been a mutated hoglin, a rare subspecies, or some sort of thick-furred, primal ancestor. the bushy mane of the mantle is very rough and sharp, but fades into a much softer coat further down the cloak– though it does have hints of red here and there, so perhaps not everything was an exaggeration.

the most pressing question is whether the entire thing is just folklore– if the mantle came from a real beast that existed at all or if it was just such a common tale told by the worshippers of the blood god that he himself heard and manifested the trophy into existence. 

there really is no way to tell, unless you ask a certain old bird.

true or not, the boar’s story is that of an honourable plague. an animal that destroyed everything in its path and always, without fail, won. no matter how many of the world’s finest warriors sought it out, the beast never fell– never came close to falling. it lived a long and prosperous life, ruining others’, and the blood it spilt is said to have given the crimson forests their colour. it died old and happy as its tusks bore through and into its own skull, the crown on the mantle is representative of that– with the added flair of an article of holy clothing, that is. a crown of emerging tusks, not a trophy because of symbolism of some hero overcoming an impossible foe, but of a beast who lived life to the fullest. the unkillable imbuing its own virtue upon the wearer.

the mantle doesnt give so much as it exacerbates, though, granted only to those who, by their own merit, would inevitably live a life like the boar’s.

essentially while the blood god’s blessing doesn’t best the passage of time, it’ still kickass. and techno wasn’t given his chad nature by some god, he was just recognized for it.

the blessing– again, at a young age– also gave him his very striking eyes and tusks! the eyes are inspired by those of a bearded vulture, where their actual function is flushing blood into the sclera to intimidate other animals (which is just so incredibly perfect). it technically isn’t permanent, but is attached to such a minute increase in heartrate that unless he is incredibly bored his sclera is nearly always red. it’s a good way to tell if he’s sleeping, at least? that is if you can’t pick it up from the closed eyes, blanket, and snoring. 

the tusks came in gradually as he aged, and on the topic of physical features his hair is dyed!

the voices (chat) were passed to him along with the mantle, which essentially functions as a selkie style half-pelt that fuses to him, grants him strength and heightened susceptibility to the aforementioned Chat (tm). he’s not a monster by any means when ‘fused’, but behaves slightly more like a big silly dog. or wolf, i guess, given the times he tends to use it. it’s actually the form he’s most comfortable in given how much more durable he is (hence boar guy in his reading glasses chilling up there) but over time without breaks from it the voices grate at him more and more. he kinda took a break from using it after doomsday.

he’s about 6’3 as a humanoid, but closer to 7’ fused with the mantle! it fuses from his chin, down his spine & shoulders to the tail, and finally down his legs.

his forearms, stomach (& most of his back) and neck are almost entirely unchanged minus the scale and build being a little altered! the cape/fabric part actually entirely disappears, and while the action of donning it is a very physical ‘putting it on’, taking it off is more of a mental thing— which poses a challenge when the voices have cause to be particularly loud and he just wants out but can’t focus.

the last few things i’ll touch on is the reception in canon to this, and the effects of the attempted execution.

so nobody but phil and maybe the rest of sbi truly know much about this, it’s actually generally assumed around the server that it’s just whatever strange sort of creature that techno is. 

the stories– and the blood god himself– exist primarily in the nether, and techno rarely ever met with people without the mantle fully equipped and fused. it certainly contributed to his reputation, to the point of others being baffled upon seeing his ‘human form’ after assuming for so long that a bipedal, prickly hoglin was just this freakazoid’s default. he didn’t mind; the less vulnerable the better. and it allowed him to wreak havoc a hell of a lot easier, with a hell of a lot fewer voices telling him to tone it down as opposed to his beta male humanoid form. if the butcher army had known to make him take it off, things could have turned out quite differently. but they didn’t, so they can suck it.

lastly, slightly anticlimactically, and a wee bit differently to the art (which, again, was just the rough design after having these ideas marinating in my brain sauces for 7 months with no outlet), the effects of the totem! there arent veins running down him or the mantle’s face as cool as that would be, because, y’know, practicality, but all of his tusks (since he was fused at the time of near-death) have cracks in them that have been mended with gold! he also has a striking, golden lock of hair directly around the impact site on both forms, and fancy gold irises that compliment his freaky deaky sclera wonderfully.

and there’s my techno shit! i’m probably forgetting a lot, or i just havent thought about it yet and will come up with my answer to any questions immediately upon being asked and no sooner but YOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!! if u read this far ily parasocially

[cchanticleer]

I am officially throwing my hat into the Awakening fankid ring

This started when i was playing the Gay Awakening mod and realized i wasn't using the male units at all, since they wouldn't have kids. So i thought. What if i made my own kids for 'em

I will almost certainly never actually make that mod, since it would be, logistically and practically, An Absolute Pain In The Ass, but i've had a blast coming up with them. I have a few more ideas (kids for Kellam, Lon'qu, and Frederick are the most developed) but Einar's turning out to be my favorite.

More details on Einar under the cut

Bio: When she was young, she was out training with her father when the two of them were attacked by the Risen. Vaike was killed, and Einar was thought to have died alongside him. However, she managed to escape, and spent a significant amount of her childhood alone in the wilderness. Once she became strong enough to fight back rather than simply run away, she dedicated herself to hunting the Risen. She took the (now inert) death-mask from the first Risen Chief she ever killed as a trophy, and wears it when she fights.

She was eventually reunited with the remaining Shepherds, but her time spent in isolation had left her with a very abrasive personality that made it difficult for her to interact with others. Like, she's the type of person who's ""brutally honest"" and is very bad at respecting other people's boundaries. Will unintentionally say really shitty things to people and genuinely not understand what the issue is. Most of the other future-kids either don't like her, or don't know how to relate to her. She recognizes that others are put off by her behavior, but doesn't know how else she's supposed to act. She's pretty well given up on making friends by the time she ends up in the past.

In adulthood Einar continues to go off on her own for weeks at a time, only rejoining the army when she runs out of supplies or gets an injury that she can't walk off. It took some convincing to get her to come to the past with the others, as she would have been content to remain in the future and keep on fighting the Risen there. Only came back when she realized that she would be able to meet Vaike in his prime, and she wanted to test her strength against his.

If she's a Manakete or Taguel, she is unused to fighting while transformed since she never had beast stones/dragon stones while out on her own.

In denial about how fucked up her childhood was and how much of an effect it had on her. Convinced that turned out perfectly well-adjusted (she did not) and it wasn't even that bad (it was). Becomes enraged if she thinks anyone is showing her pity. Internally jealous of the other future-kids, thinking they had cushy, spoiled childhoods (despite the fact they were also Experiencing The Horrors). This resentment is not very well hidden, but she'll deny emphatically that it's there because she's not angry about what she went through at all, actually, she's doing great, it's everyone else who's hung up about it-

Uneducated, but not stupid; she can read and write but is pretty slow at it. Becomes frustrated easily when others expect her to know things that she never had a chance to learn.

Paralogue

Chrom and the Shepherds hear word of a woman fighting off a horde of Risen single-handedly, and rush to assist her.

They track down Einar, and see that she's doing just fine but go to help her anyway. Once she sees them joining the fight, however, she forgets about the Risen and starts fighting the Shepherds, wanting to see how strong they really are.

Route the Enemy. Einar starts battle as an Ally Unit, switches to Enemy Unit when Player Units come within her range, or when talked to by Chrom or Vaike. She will be recruited after the battle ends.

Potential Supports

Vaike: Vaike wants to bond with his daughter, she just wants to fight. He's down at first, but starts getting frustrated over her single-mindedness. He doesn't quite manage to realize the irony of it. He's pretty pissed at his future self for leaving his kid alone.

2nd Parent: She was still young when she was lost, and by the time she was found her other parent had already died, so she has very little memory of them. They try to bond with her in their own way, with varying results.

Sibling: Has a rocky relationship with most potential siblings. Is much more open about resenting her sibling's childhood, and is very resistant to any attempts they make to get closer to her. She does genuinely care about them, it's just buried under her mountain of trauma.

Robin: They are frustrated by Einar's tendency to go off on her own and ignore planned battle strategies. Tries different methods to make her integrate into the group more, with poor results.

Lucina: Lucina has some guilt over Einar, feeling that she's taking advantage of her by ordering her out into the most dangerous fights alone; Einar doesn't see what the problem is, especially since she consistently jumps into said fights before Lucina even has a chance to give the orders.

As Siblings: Lucina feels even more guilty about everything, but this time the guilt actively pisses Einar off as now she feels some degree of duty to kill the Risen as Chrom's daughter. B-Support would be pretty close to the usual Luci sibling B-Support, except she would be explosively furious at Lucina for suggesting that she could die, and she refuses to even touch the Falchion after that. Lucina is surprised by her anger because she didn't think Einar actually liked her all that much.

Owain: They were reasonably close as kids and he pretty heavily mythologized her after her apparent death. Was pretty bummed when she came back and didn't match up with his stories at all.

As Siblings: He's the potential sibling that she has the worst relationship with, since Owain was canonically present for his father's death. They were both training with Vaike when the Risen attacked them, where Vaike was killed while defending Owain. Both kids managed to escape, but only Owain made it home afterwards.

Kjelle: Kjelle can't stand her, but she's the only one who can keep up with her training regiment, so she tolerates her.

Nah: Einar really really really wants to wrestle a dragon

Noire: Einar constantly tries to provoke Noire into slipping into her other personality, since she thinks it's funny. They get along surprisingly well.

As Siblings: She still provokes her, but also feels bad about Noire being left to grow up with Tharja alone. The only potential sibling that she doesn't openly resent from the start.

[whiskey-bumblebee]

Omg I can't tell you how many times a day I think about sugar daddy hotch

I think my dream gift from him would be just a whole hoke library all for myself. I love my books so so so much and books from Aaron?? ugh I'd melt

I am going to blatantly borrow from Age of Adaline here, so if you haven't seen it, slight spoilers for that (and I really recommend watching it!). Hope you enjoy this! I have an excessive collection of books myself so I get it lol <3

Also I mention some books by name here, I picked them randomly and they are NOT recommendations by me. I have no idea what they're about and I've never read any of them.

Divider credit: @tommyytalks

You can't keep the grin from your face as you slide the ladder across the floor, the wheels sending it flying across the freshly-waxed wood. The shelves reach the ceiling, and you and Hotch have decided to spend your weekend populating them. Your collection had been packed into boxes in preparation for moving them to the new, purpose-built room that would be their home, so now you were unpacking them, after a long debate about whether to alphabetize them by author, or to organize them by colour.

The hours pass, and you appreciate the way the golden accent wall catches the light at the different times of day. Now, at sunset, it sends golden, orange, and red glimmering through the room, reflecting the shades of the sky. The brass details in the room look stunning too, like some form of long-forgotten magic is creeping back into the room through the metal.

Aside from the shelves and the golden wall, which visually dominate the space, there's a portable electric fireplace in the centre of the room, around which two armchairs and a chaise longue are arranged.

A large landscape painting hangs on the wall nearest the door, and a smaller bookshelf sits beneath it, this one with glass doors. Hotch had explained that this bookshelf was designed to hold the more sensitive parts of your collection; the books that were older than any living person, the antique maps, the manuscripts with unique bindings.

You might have felt heat blossom in your chest when he said "sensitive parts", but that's irrelevant.

Once it's all unpacked, he comments that you can decide if you want to fill all of the shelves with books, or leave space for trinkets, busts, small sculptures, trophies, et cetera. That's part of the gift, of course, the promise that he'll take you to your favourite independent bookstore and you can fill the shelves with whatever you like.

You think that must be it. A whole room, dedicated to your books, freshly renovated? A rolling ladder like in Beauty and the Beast? The promise of taking you to buy anything else you'd like to fill the room with? The Hermes throw that made you panic and close the page when you saw how much it cost?

You run your hands over your jeans and smile at Aaron, about to thank him, when he extends you a pile of books.

Violets - Kyung-sook Shin Red Roses for My Love - Edgar Holmes Sunflowers - Sheramy Bundrick The Black Tulip - Alexandre Dumas Orchid Blues - Stuart Woods A Hundred White Daffodils - Jane Kenyon "Flowers that will never wilt," He explains after you've looked at each of the titles. You roll your eyes playfully. "I love you."

He rests his head against yours, taking a moment to share a breath.

"I love you too."

[tuxebo]

sometimes i want to get back to writing long fics, but then i remember i have mouths to feed (yes, you). anyways, i was talking about the viktors in my last post's tags and i wanted to elaborate on that.

okay, when i say rookwood is husband material, i never said he was good husband material. while the reason you relationship would work is because of small moments that are really sweet. you may think he's changed, but he'll act like it never happened right afterwards.

the way you meet is probably the most tragic part of it all and sets the tone of the rest of your abusive relationship. so, you happened to be a halfbreed (wizard x smth, most likely veela or siren) that he planned on selling but decided to keep for himself. alternatively, you could have been trying to protect some animals from poachers but he still took the animal and you. he's a greedy scoundrel.

he won't hurt you, per se, but he will trophy wife the life out of you. personally i wouldn't mind that, but i could see why many people would. this isn't your average trophy wife, this is something else. he brings you everywhere in a "buy animals or materials from me and you might bag yourself a beauty like this one" kinda way. at the same time, you would not be the beauty the customers bag because your his, gout a brand and all. mhm, he 100% puts his name on you somewhere.

now, you may be confused. that isn't husband like at all, and i agree. we need to look into the finer details here, my dears. in letters, on the rare occasion he doesn't bring you along as some marketing ploy, he writes your name like it is that of a saint's. you can see in each pen stroke, it is some of the most gentle movements your lover has ever made. after long days of hard work, yelling at his workers and standing around as they do all the work, he finally has time to think about you as he winds down.

he holds you all the same as well. like a creature he want's to be gentle with but has no clue how, so as a result he just watches from afar. you have your own room and he has his, objectively yours is just nicer, and you have people waiting on your every need and want. he won't bother you or talk to you the longer you are together, aside from times you'd bump into each other in his manor or stand face to face with only a bookshelf between you.

someone very similar is another viktor, viktor krum. now he is not abusive unlike someone we know, he's definitely a watcher as well. he shows his care and love with his eyes, and sure there's more as well.

now not entirely unlike rookwood, he will drown you in expensive things. look at him, he's been a professional quidditch player since before he even became an adult, he's a wealthy guy; by ethical means, i might add. he doesn't only lavish you in clothes or jewelry, but whatever hobby or career it is you have. you like astronomy? have a planetarium! you're a writer? have the entire library from beauty and the beast. your wish is his command.

which brings me to, he is so princess bride coded. if you take nothing from this post at all, take this one thing. he has a similar phrase to "as you wish" that he says whenever you tell him something, while it may seem like a "whatever, i'll just do what you say to get it over with" response, he actually means to say "i love you" each time he says it. it is rare that he goes out of his way to speak, even rarer that he outright says he loves you, but in his eyes and actions you know he means it.

krum is actually very smart loves, think about it. if you want to go on about a certain topic, he'll keep up just fine. for starter's, he's read the books he's seen you read in case you want to talk about it, also he's just a naturally intelligent guy. it's how he could keep up his grades and quidditch, a lot of things he just knows.

pause, he does that thing where he'd very, very gently bounce his leg while you're sitting on his lap and telling him something. vodka in one hand and a look in his eyes that one would have when look at their entire world. oh my, hand placement on the waist too, not even in that kind of way but he's just o perfect.

[christinesficrecs]

Hi, Christine! There's a fic I've been trying to find for a while now, but can't. It was pretty much a season 1 fic, though not sure about length. The bit I remember is that it was a rare "An Argent gets arrested" fic. Kate was revealed to be the serial killer arsonist (not sure if of only the Hales or elsewhere as well), and pretty much every "animal attack" ever in Beacon Hills (and elsewhere??) is explained as her (and Gerard? Maybe?) having trained an animal to kill so they'd get away with murder. Does that ring any bells at all?

Also, any chance you've got some other fics to recommend along the lines of (some of) the Argents getting arrested for being stone cold serial killers? Not by Hunter council or something but normal cops/agents?

Thank you!!

Hey! I don't remember that one specifically. There is a Kate tag here but I really can't recall any fics that go into detail about the Argents being arrested, etc. Isn't there a Slave!Derek fic in which Deputy!Stiles managed to get her arrested?

Anyway! Drop a link if you know this or one like it.

Thank you everyone!! ❤️

The Boy and the Beast by Dira Sudis (dsudis) | 116.6K | Mature

In which events in Beacon Hills go rather differently from the start, and a Beauty and the Beast (ish) story ensues. (Scott is not a teacup and no one sings about their feelings.)

Wolfsbane by DiscontentedWinter | 48.2K | Mature

Kate Argent has kept a little trophy of the Hale fire for all these years - Derek Hale. When Deputy Stiles Stilinski finds him, he doesn't just need to rescue Derek from the Argents. He needs to rescue Derek from his past.

[rikki-roses]

Fluffy February Day 19: Shadow

SWTOR

Time period: Rishi during Shadows of Revan

Pairing: Setra Rowan and her bff/body guard/hunting buddy/token grandfather Qyzen Fess. Brief mention of early Setra Rowan/Theron Shan.

Bit more hunting and archaeology fluff today. Calling it Space Weed for now because idk if there's an in-canon name for it - Setra uses it medicinally and for Jedi rituals, both in combination with the Force. Also TW I guess for reference to drug use.

This is a zhaboka, since I can't remember if I've posted it before:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Setra had always been at home in the shadows. Ever since she was a child, studying as a Jedi youngling with her twin sister, she'd felt comfortable enveloping herself in the shadows and the Force so that she could sneak around and study in peace. That skill had come in handy as an adult when Qyzen started to take her hunting with him, allowing her to ambush their prey.

She allowed the shadows to envelope again her as she, Paws, and Qyzen stalked the star'kla along the beach. She held her zhaboka at the ready, her dualsaber left behind with Nadia; it was frowned upon (by both the Jedi Code and Trandoshan hunting customs) to hunt with it, so she relied on her ancestral weapon instead.

They hadn't initially planned on hunting the beast, but this beach was a popular tourist spot (and one that Setra and her crew had already visited off-duty), and the locals at Raider's Cove had placed a generous bounty on it after their own efforts to drive the star'kla away had failed.

A bounty, her crew pointed out, that Setra could use to bribe the pirates into giving her some of the relics they'd dug up so she could conduct actual research on them, and send back to Tython for proper caretaking (after ensuring that they didn't currently belong to anyone living, of course); the Jedi did not have many Rishii artifacts. Setra might even be able to set up a proper exhibit with them. Not to mention that any extra could be used to replace Setra's personal alcohol and Space Weed stores.

And so, she, her nexu, and Qyzen waited in the shadows. While the star'kla hadn't taken notice of them, Setra still played it safe and called on the Force to wrap around them, further disguising their approach. They waited and tracked for hours, until the star'kla stopped, hunched over, and started to eat some unfortunate creature.

Qyzen gave her the signal; with a whisper, hand sign, and pat on Paws' rump from Setra, the nexu took off across the sand, getting the attention of the star'kla. Once distracted, Qyzen rushed in with a roar, Setra hot on his heels, bare toes digging into the sand.

It was a short fight; they had struck before the beast fully realized they were attacking. Setra got the kill, climbing up the beast's back and driving one blade of her zhaboka into the base of the star'kla's skull. Jumping back down to the sand, they made quick work dismembering the star'kla for easy transportation back to Raider's Cove.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In the end, they traded for more than just the bounty; various pirates and hunters wanted various parts of the star'kla beyond what Setra and Qyzen had claimed as their personal trophies. Setra had tried to hide their little excursion from Lana and Theron - she hadn't exactly told them that she liked to hunt, since it was unusual for Jedi to do so - only for Jakarro to bust her when the Wookie discovered he hadn't been included in that day's antics.

While Lana had been mildly horrified when Setra showed off the giant tooth she'd claimed, Theron had been impressed, immediately inspecting her zhaboka and asking about her technique. Setra was all too happy to go into detail, immediately launching into an impromptu lesson on her weapon's history and use. Neither one of them noticed Lana smirking as they stood together, or when Lana dragged a nosy Jakarro away "to help her with an important mission".

For once, she didn't miss the shadows when she and Theron went to stargaze on the beach that night.

[coyote-catcher]

🛩🛋🦋🏆📚🌪 )HOPE ITS NOT TOO MANY SDKLGDS)

LOL no worries!!! this ended up being a bit long so answers r under the cut >:3

🛩 [PLANE] -> Was your Original Character born on Jorvik or did they come here from somewhere else? If so, what was their reason to come to Jorvik?

nova (like me) is from canada! she actually came to jorvik at age 11 when she was scouted by the jorvik ballet company, and became interested in horseback riding when her ballet master took her and her fellow students to see the circus - she was enamoured by vaulting!

🛋 [COUCH W/ LAMP] -> Where does your Original Character live? As in, where do they reside - one of the many stables across the Jorvegian Peninsula, or do they own an apartment/home within one of Jorvik's Cities?

technically nova lives with mrs holdsworth (who is essentially her adoptive mother), and that's the address where she like. gets all her mail lol. holdsworth is also more or less the only person who is relatively up to date on nova's whereabouts at any given point (eg. she was the only one who knew where she was during nova's stint in the wildwoods). in practice, nova's a nomad, and can't handle staying in one place for too long. currently she's stabling her herd in valedale, in exchange for them being used in druid activities (this is really reluctant, but when you're low on funds, you havent got many options lol). oh, there was also a period of about a year during which she lived in the little shack at the unfortunate dews' farm! this was way before maya staked claim to the property, and they never ran into each other while maya was caring for the livestock there, but i like to think that, since they're friends, maya lets her crash there every once in awhile

🦋 [BUTTERFLY] -> Does your Original Character belong to any of the organisations or groups on Jorvik - Dark Core, the Keepers, the Rangers, the GED, one of the Stables, etc.?

there was a period of time (roughly three months) during which nova was employed by the rangers at redwood point. she's affiliated with the keepers, but isn't exactly happy about it. she's really close with the moorlands, and worked at their summer camp for a couple terms. she's also a guest instructor with the bobcats!

(i've already answered the trophy one so i'm gonna skip it to avoid being redundant)

📚 [BOOK STACK] -> What is your Original Character's story? Not just in SSO's canon main story - what is your Character's deal in general?

this is a wonderful question that i would love to answer in great detail, but i honestly dont think i can! i would say it needs its own post, but i think nova's life story is one that will be revealed (to everyone, including me) over time, through answering small questions, creating art, and making tweaks over time in compliance with (or defiance against) the existing canon of SSO (which is an ever shifting beast, but i genuinely enjoy the challenge!) essentially, i'd say that nova came to the island as a kid, experienced a falling out with her family, and never went back. there was a period of a few years (2016-2023, aka when i stopped playing the game and got the sudden inexplicable urge to come back) during which she travelled the world at large, but never went back to canada. at that time, she split her herd between the moorlands and herman to employ as lesson horses. it's been a labour of love for her to restore her bond with each of them as individuals. i havent figured out her in-canon reason for coming back to the island yet unfortunately! she also had a "love interest" (comp het) several years ago who experienced a tragic demise, and is the reason she left the island to begin with

🌪 [TORNADO] -> Does your Original Character have any traumas or fears that stem from something that happened to them on Jorvik? Have they been confronted with something that left them scarred (mentally or physically)?

yes! yes. the aforementioned "love interest" is absolutely one. she broke her foot at the moorland's summer camp which meant that she couldnt dance anymore, and also spurred her falling out with her parents. nova also has lingering issues with her eyesight in her left eye, following an accident involving a cross country course and a thorn bush (which is based on an injury from my irl cross country days lol)

thank you for the questions!!!! i love talking about my fucked up baby girl

[squideo]

Behind the Scenes: The Top Animated Video Production Fails and Bloopers

Everyone makes mistakes, and for our small Squideo squad it’s reassuring to know they even happen at the largest animation companies. From DreamWorks to Disney, we’re breaking down the ten most obvious on-screen fails and bloopers in animated films.

Read on to find out who made the cut and let us know if we’ve missed something!

01. The Lion King

The protagonist of this 1994 Walt Disney Studios classic, Simba, grows from a cub to an adult during the course of The Lion King. Changes to his appearance were expected, but there were some minor details that clearly slipped by the producers. Sometimes Simba has three whiskers on either side, sometimes four, occasionally five, and one time six.

The film has some other continuity errors, but this one is definitely the cutest to look at.

02. Shrek

The first film to win the Academy Award for Best Animated Film, the Shrek franchise started in 2001 and helped DreamWorks Animation became a serious rival to Pixar and the Walt Disney Animation Studio. Spawning three sequels and two spin-off films, the most recent of which came out in 2022, there’s no sign of the Shrek franchise slowing down either.

Like all studios who have a vast body of work behind them, there’s bound to be the odd blooper and Shrek is no exception. In one scene, Shrek creates a warning sign on a piece of wood which the animators failed to flip when looking at it from behind.

03. Toy Story 2

The sequel to the wildly popular Toy Story came out in 1999 and created more heartbreak when it separated Woody from his beloved owner Andy. Taken in by a toy repairer who sees value in Woody, the name of his owner is erased from existence in a massively satisfying montage which has since been adopted by the ASMR community.

With a sweep of a brush, Andy’s name is painted over. Woody soon rubs away the paint, however the name is suddenly upside down with the A next to the heel instead of at the toe.

04. Beauty and the Beast

No one fights like Gaston, douses light like Gaston, or moves furniture as fast as Gaston. During this musical number in 1991’s Beauty and the Beast, a number of hunting trophies are littered about to show Gaston’s skill – and cruelty. The most prominent is a vast bear rug, which teleports from a cosy spot by the fire to the feet of Gaston’s throne in a matter of moments.

It's a pity Gaston fell to his death (in classic Disney villain fashion), the Prince could have hired him as a decorator.

05. Spirited Away

Studio Ghibli’s 2001 classic Spirited Away became the first hand-drawn and non-English speaking animated film to win the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. This is a technically beautiful film and a Japanese classic, despite the occasional continuity error. When meeting No-Face, Chihiro is surrounded by ropes and brooms – some of which disappear only to reappear in a different frame.

It's such a beautiful sequence, however, that viewers are unlikely to catch that, or the colour-changing cushions, until they’re on their fifth or so rewatch.

06. Cinderella

While Disney’s second princess is most recognised in her ballgown, this 1950 adaptation of the fairy tale also includes a beautiful wedding dress. A beautiful wedding dress with long sleeves. A beautiful wedding dress without a choker necklace. The happy couple leave the chapel, with Cinderella losing one of her shoes in the process (typical).

A quick change must have happened, because only seconds after they board the carriage Cinderella is back in her ballgown – capped sleeves and choker necklace included – with only the veil and tiara remaining in place.

07. Sleeping Beauty

While we’re on Disney Princesses, Cinderella’s successor was Sleeping Beauty which came out in 1959. Influenced by European pre-Renaissance art, Disney wanted their newest fairy tale to look visually different from Cinderella. A lot of detail went into creating this film, which went into development in 1950.

Unfortunately the detail on Aurora’s tiara varies, typically appearing as a plain gold band except in the moments after her collapse from the curse when it is suddenly adorned with gemstones.

08. Monsters, Inc.

If you don’t know what a Code 2319 is, you’ve clearly never seen Pixar’s 2001 masterpiece Monsters, Inc.. Professional scarer, George Sanderson visits an assignment and comes back with more than memories. Coming into contact with a child’s sock triggers a massive alert and protagonists Sulley and Mike Wazowki watch as he is decontaminated – and de-furred.

Considering their aversion to humans, it seems unlikely George would have touched the sock so it must have been an animating error that led to it pointing in opposite directions between shots.

09. The Lego Batman Movie

Running Wayne Manor must keep Alfred busy, but it seems unlikely he’s moving around the portraits every other second. Unless the culprit is the ghost of Batman’s parents, it seems likely then that this blink-and-you’ll-miss-it error was the fault of the animators working on The Lego Batman Movie. When talking to a portrait of his dead parents, the pictures surrounding it change.

It was still a touching scene, and the 2017 film has an impressive 90% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

10. Aladdin

The animated version of the classic tale Aladdin features Rajah, the devoted and protective pet tiger of Princess Jasmine. Jasmine rebuffs her father, the Sultan’s, attempts to arrange her marriage and it seems that Rajah is on her side. He attacks Prince Achmed, presenting Jasmine with a shred from his underwear as a well-received gift.

When Prince Achmed storms out of the palace however, his trousers are ripped but not his underwear. A funny scene, nevertheless, and suitable for a PG-rated film.

Work With Us

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[thelorehold]

Title: The Wrath of Ursyth

Objective: Track down and neutralize Ursyth, the legendary Dire Bear that has been terrorizing the countryside.

Quest Giver: Ranger Captain Thelion Brightwood, a seasoned hunter and protector of the wilderness. He is known for his expertise in dealing with dangerous creatures and has put out a call for brave adventurers to aid in the hunt for Ursyth.

Details of the Quest: Ranger Captain Thelion informs the party that Ursyth, a massive Dire Bear of unnatural size and ferocity, has begun attacking villages and travelers near the edge of the Wildwood Forest. Legends speak of Ursyth as a guardian spirit of the forest, but something has driven it mad, causing it to rampage and endanger all who venture near its territory.

The adventurers must delve into the heart of Wildwood Forest, navigating treacherous terrain and facing other wild creatures that have been stirred up by Ursyth's presence. They must uncover the source of Ursyth's madness and put an end to its rampage before more lives are lost.

Reward: Ranger Captain Thelion offers a handsome reward of gold, along with a set of enchanted hunting gear crafted from the bones and hide of Ursyth itself. Additionally, he promises the party his endorsement, which grants them access to specialized training in wilderness survival and tracking techniques.

Optional Hooks:

Local Legends: Villagers tell tales of Ursyth being an ancient guardian spirit of the Wildwood Forest, but recent events suggest that something dark has corrupted its nature. A local historian or druid might have insights into what could have caused Ursyth's madness.

Survivor's Tale: A survivor of an Ursyth attack seeks the adventurers out, desperate for revenge or closure. This survivor could provide firsthand knowledge of Ursyth's behavior and habits, aiding the party in tracking down the elusive beast.

Bounty Contract: A wealthy noble offers a substantial bounty for Ursyth's pelt, believing it to be a rare and valuable trophy. This contract could lead the party to consider the moral implications of hunting such a majestic creature, especially if they uncover Ursyth's true nature and the cause of its aggression.

Embarking on the hunt for Ursyth promises not only the thrill of tracking a formidable opponent through dense wilderness but also the opportunity to uncover ancient mysteries and restore balance to the Wildwood Forest.

[pajamasareamazing]

Moonlit and Lampstruck

This is a little bit of flavor fiction I put together for an upcoming character I'll be playing in a Dresden Files campaign that takes place in New Orleans in 1865 following the assassination of Lincoln, because not only are we tabletop nerds we also have to make it about the Reconstruction and class dynamics. Anyways, about that were-gator...

An oil lamp on either end of the boat and the high full moon were the only sources of light that night, and under the cypress sentinels of the bayou they afforded little visibility. Standing at the bow, a rifle cradled in his arms is a hunter, renowned the world over for his courage and steady aim. Behind him, a guide native to this land but ill at ease in his home, eyes flitting about as he plied the oars. This primordial place was unwelcoming to humankind in the daylight, and by the light of the moon it was wholly the realm of beasts and worse.

These men had struck out on their midnight trek into the oppressively hot Louisiana summer night in search of worse. The hunter already had scores of pelts and trophies lining the walls of his homes and was tired of the mundane hunt. He sought a legend to skin and mount. The guide only wanted peace for his people, who were terrorized by moonlight attacks and believed that the hunter could provide it to them. The night had its own agenda. 

Pinpoints and coins of various sizes glowed in pairs just above the waterline, barely outside the warm luminescence of burning whale oil. A cold blooded gathering, silent in their observation. The croak and splash of fist sized bullfrogs was underscored by the gurgling scrape of soft belly scales sliding down muddy banks to near-silently splash down into the murk and joining the other reflecting eyes that surrounded the boat by the dozens. These juveniles watched from a distance, only observing. Like they knew they were in for a show.

Far off in the unseen, a mature bull roared at some encroachment, and the smaller gators in the water fled instinctively from the mere suggestion of the larger male. Farther still, another bull roared but the sound was… wrong. Pained. Angry. Much louder than it should have been from such an obvious distance. A cold spike of fear shot through both men. This place was a transplant from a more primitive time, before apes climbed down from the trees to first conceive of the knife and the spear. They were out of place.

The hunter knew this, he had been out of place most of his days in some hostile clime or mysterious locale, but had always felt every bit the predator no matter where he tracked his quarry. Now was not that case, and as the final shreds of the unnatural roar faded into the distance his racing heart had him idly wondering after the fear he saw in his prey’s eyes.

The guide thought little of the past as he navigated deeper into the dark heart of the bayou. His mind was on the present, and his eyes were moving, searching for the monster the  guide knew to prowl the deepest parts of the swamp when it was not killing and eating his fellow villagers. The guide could not describe it himself, using only secondhand details.

The broken snatches of visuals illustrated something horrifying, and unnatural. Any who saw the monster directly did not live to tell the tale. From the few who saw something, the claims were… disquieting. A mouth wide enough to swallow children whole, bristling with needle tipped yellow teeth and sitting below unblinking eyes the size of teacups which reflected firelight so brightly they could have been lamps themselves. The ferocity of the attacks left blood and viscera splashed high on ceilings and in trees. The most any one person had seen and lived to describe was a vast expanse of back as it had fed on someone already dead. A mishmash of greens and browns shot through with the darkest shades, like a newborn gator what just lost its egg tooth.

A rougaroux is what the old Cajun woman had named the creature when the guide had described the habits and look of it, although it was no wolf as legend usually dictated in the old world. She claimed it had once been a man, cursed by birth or misdeed to transform by the light of the full moon. The guide was Choctaw by birth and knew little of the white man's witchcraft, but the Cajun woman had proven herself honest and knowledgeable before so when she had described the weaknesses of the beast he had melted down his mothers silver into a handful of bullets.

They had traveled some time, and it was near silent now in the velvet black of the swamp. The echoing creak of the oars may as well have been cannonfire for the distance the sound traveled. Their reptilian audience had dispersed without their notice, and only one set of eyes now peered at the hunter and his guide with an eerily reflected light. Eyes the size of teacups.

[magnumversumplus]

Spells and Spoils Part II

Written By Joseph M.

Tiana Lerouz looked into the window, into the reflection gleaming back at her in the glass. She went from owning a small china shop in New York to being the Chief Executive Officer of Technopolitan Limited. She oversaw every nook and cranny of the company, looked over all of the finances, made big budgeting decisions and finally, she was at the top.

She looked over her desk, a smooth mahogany table draped in teal wool cloth. On her table was a golden bell that shone like the Sun; next to the bell she had a towering, gilded trophy that stood over her tall figure like a god next to a giant; also on her desk, she had a pencil case with several sharpened, Number 2 Ticonderoga pencils that were a honey mustard yellow.

She looked at her pristine office. A dashing series of ballerinas danced across her walls, painted in neon colors. Her office was planted atop a skyscraper like an angel with golden wings atop a Christmas tree. Truly, she was living the life. Today–as she often did while talking to a client–she admired the trinkets and awards displayed on the shelves in her office, and she dreamt of where life would take her.

Today’s client wore cryptic and expressionless shades, a falu red bandana with white spots, a carmine red biking jacket, and cardinal red jeans and boots. He slipped manila folders onto her table, files stuffed with papers and ballpoint pens clipped to the front. He discussed everything about the company, from shares to the fired employees to the recent hires and the private finances and contracts the employees supposedly had with each other and third parties–though he said nothing about who he was and how he had confidential details only known by higher-ups.

He came with an accusation of corruption within the company–deeply rooted treason amongst corporate higher-ups and shady transactions. He said that the remaining power she had was slowly slipping out of her grasp as the corruption spread; it was like a serpent writhing underneath her company’s skin, slowly consuming the remaining life force.

Tiana didn’t believe this at first, but what was she going to do? If the shady man was right, her company would crumble until it became some beast she didn’t recognize. If the man was wrong, she would at least sleep in peace knowing corruption hadn’t bled into her hard work.

She normally wasn’t willing to trust strangers this easily, but Technopolitan Limited was her pride and joy, and she would do anything if it meant preserving her hard work. She reached for her canary tan briefcase and slammed it onto the table; she unfolded the briefcase clasps–silver like quarters–and laid the insides of the briefcase onto the table for the man to see.

She reached for one of the papers, a classified document she had been carrying around for the past few days detailing a suspicious company representative’s dealings with Stonewall LLC. She walked towards a dresser and opened it, revealing a cork board with thumbtacks and strings connecting various images.

She explained her theories about this suspicious employee, a man named Doctor F. She had copies of arrest warrants, the results of background checks, imaginary references on his resumes–everything proving that Doctor F. was not exactly what he initially seemed to be.

On the corkboard, she had photos she hired a private investigator to take, one named Vitnya Annavyani that followed Doctor F. around and snap blurry, B&W photos. She had small, colorful sticky notes with observations about his character written in sloppy blue ink.

After talking with the man for hours and hours, discussing the evidence and the theories until the sun set, she escorted him to the door. Tiana walked him to the elevator, tapping her feet and humming along to the mundane music ringing in their ears, echoing in the cramped space. She walked him to his slick crimson two-seater, a slick red camaro that disappeared in a blink of an eye.

Vitnya Annavyani arrived at the front steps of the skyscraper as she left, a man wearing a crow-black bulletproof uniform and shades that, unlike the earlier man’s, one could see eyes through. She could see his emotions–his spirit too–through those tinted glasses. She could see every time he was close to tears, and saw his eyes gleam every time he laughed.

Vitnya watched her explain her discoveries as she did to the earlier man, everything she discovered about the eccentric Doctor F. She said everything the same way–she rehearsed her presentation as if she was talking to colleagues about a new business strategy.

Vitnya told her that he had also investigated him. According to Annavyani, the doctor last seen performing surgery on one of the patients, accompanied by experimental surgical robots he had reprogrammed to serve his needs. He left a tip with the police, who raided his shack and found nothing but a wreck; his home was raided, vandalized, and the walls ripped apart until all that remained was just the bare, corroded steel infrastructure.

Where his dusty, dim abode once sat, now nothing remained. Construction crew had come and gone, and now all that remained was a “Land For Sale” sign. Vitnya himself was there as it was torn down, the big CAT bulldozers ripped through whatever shell remained of Doctor F.’s living quarters, and the suspicious surgeon became a homeless man.

Doctor F. was spotted wandering the streets, holding a sign up that begged for money. His skin became plagued with diseases and turned a fading gray, his fingers had become wrinkly and numb and his once lofty purple coat had become chewed up and stained.

He was once a man with surgical precision, now reduced to a stumbling, imprecise mess that tripped over his own shoes. His medical career was stolen by someone else, someone who accomplished more than him without any of the illegally stolen and modified technology.

Doctor F.’s moniker was also stolen. Unbeknownst to the prying Annavyani, Doctor F. had a secret career as a voodoo magician, and a certain Doctor Façillier had assumed Doctor F.’s role after he was reported missing. Doctor F. had his entire life stolen from others, but he wasn’t the type to give up easily. He was on the verge of losing, but he wasn’t checkmated yet.

[wingedchildtiger]

Koulibaly Al Hilal

Senegal defender Kalidou Koulibaly has joined Saudi Arabian side Al Hilal from Premier League side Chelsea, the two clubs announced on Sunday.

"We'll continue to make history together," Al Hilal said on Twitter, alongside a short video featuring Koulibaly.

The four-time Asian Champions League winners said Koulibaly's contract would run until 2026 without giving any financial details. British media reported that the Saudi club would pay around £17 million ($21.61m) for the centre-back.

"I'm here with those who make the glory in the present and the future," the Africa Cup of Nations winner said.

Koulibaly, 32, scored two goals in 32 appearances in all competitions for Chelsea after joining them from Napoli last July.

He is the second player moving to Al Hilal from the Premier League after Portugal midfielder Ruben Neves signed from Wolverhampton Wanderers on Friday.

The Saudi Pro League has become attractive to Europe-based players since Cristiano Ronaldo moved to Al Nassr in January.

League champions Al Ittihad signed Ballon d'Or winner Karim Benzema earlier this month, while the club has also confirmed that former Chelsea midfielder N'Golo Kante is joining them.

Al Hilal are the most decorated club in Saudi Arabia and Asia, having won 66 trophies, and they hold the record for league and Asian Champions titles with 18 and four, respectively.

Boosting their squad is a priority for the Riyadh-based club; they have lost their league and Asian Champions crowns.

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Spanish media report that they are also keen to secure the services of Manchester City midfielder Bernardo Silva.

Kalidou Koulibaly has become the latest Chelsea player to move to Saudi Arabia after the defender completed a transfer to Al-Hilal for an undisclosed fee.

The centre-back, 32, joins Ruben Neves at the Saudi Pro League side following the Wolves midfielder's £47m switch.

Chelsea midfielder N'Golo Kante has also agreed to sign for Saudi champions Al-Ittihad, while team-mate Edouard Mendy is close to joining Al-Ahli.

Koulibaly signed for Chelsea from Napoli last July on a four-year deal.

He arrived at Stamford Bridge with European and international experience, after helping Napoli win the Italian Cup in 2020 and Senegal claim the Africa Cup of Nations in 2022.

But he played just 32 games for the club in all competitions, scoring two goals in 23 Premier League appearances.

"From my first game to my last, it was an honour to wear this badge," Koulibaly said on Twitter.

"Last season wasn't the one we wanted, but I want to thank the fans and everyone at the club for your support."

Chelsea did not disclose how much Al-Hilal have paid for Koulibaly - but reports suggest it could be as much as £20m.

Koulibaly's arrival in Saudi Arabia follows a recent trend from European clubs that started with Cristiano Ronaldo's switch from Manchester United to Al-Nassr in January.

Karim Benzema followed from Real Madrid to Al-Ittihad at the end of the season, while Arsenal's Thomas Partey and Manchester City's Bernardo Silva have been heavily linked with a move in recent weeks.

The trend underlines the league's ambition to be one of the top five in the world and follows a decision in June by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF), which owns Newcastle United, to take over four leading clubs in the country.

There is uncertainty over whether PIF holds a stake in Chelsea's ultimate owners, the private equity firm Clearlake Capital, although club sources have rejected suggestions of any direct involvement.

Despite this, the club could well see four of its players join the Saudi Pro League by the end of the summer, with Morocco winger Hakim Ziyech also linked with a move.

These departures are part of a wider process going on behind the scenes at Stamford Bridge as new manager Mauricio Pochettino reshapes his squad.

Germany forward Kai Havertz is due to join Arsenal in a £65m deal and Manchester City have had a £30m bid accepted for Croatia midfielder Mateo Kovacic.

The Chelsea rebuild has also seen the arrival of France forward Christopher Nkunku from RB Leipzig, while Villarreal's Senegal striker Nicolas Jackson reportedly had a medical in London this weekend before a move.

[digitalsatyr23]

The Watchful Eye (Commission)

Setting: Arachnia Characters: Reah and Hideaux

    “What about this request? ‘Local farm besieged by rat hounds. Requesting aid to prevent further damage to crops. Reward: 5 copper per rat hound.’ That should be easy,” I said.

    “Yeah, but look at the location. That’s hardly local. We’d spend more money going there and back. Hopefully they find someone in their area, but as for me, I need more coin than five copper a piece,” said my friend.

    “All right, fine. What about… This one? ‘Accursed on the loose, must be stopped at all costs.’ And that pay… I haven’t seen that many zeroes in a while.”

    “Might be a bit above our pay grade, though. The last time I tried to take on an Accursed, damn thing almost ripped my head off. Saw a lot of men die that day… That’s not something you take on with two people.”

    Frowning, I put the request back on the board and kept looking. After weighing the pros and cons of the many Guild requests available, we finally settled on a good old fashioned bounty hunt. After we shook on it, we left the Guild Hall and prepared for the journey ahead of us.

    It’s been over a decade since Nicholas took the crown. Once the leader of the prestigious organization known only as “The Guild”, Nicholas helped the Boccovian Empire through the tumultuous Black Sky War, leading not only to Boccovia’s victory, but also to its survival. My father had told me a great many things about this time. It’s not surprising, since he had helped Nicholas in the war. When it was all said and done, he came back to our village in Tirachna, down in the Crescent Valley, but he seemed… Changed. He was like one big scar, covering up some deep pain barely beneath the surface. Unfortunately, there wasn’t much I could do to bring him comfort. All I could do was be a good daughter.

    While my father Toma always had a haggard look to him, he was at his best when he told me stories. I suspect the nasty details were stripped from them, but he wasn’t shy about sharing his adventures. Fighting dangerous fey, riding a magical train to a tower in the desert, saving an innocent girl from the clutches of Hell – he had done it all and more. I think that’s what really set me on this path. I knew the life of an adventurer was dangerous, but if I could bring back my own stories to tell, maybe that would comfort him the same way they comforted me.

    “Is something on your mind?” Hideaux asked me.

    “Hm? Oh, it’s nothing. My mind was just wandering a little,” I replied.

    My name is Reah, daughter of Toma Fenae. Unlike my traveling companion, I don’t hail from Boccovia. My home lies far to the east in the wild lands of Tirachna, home of giants, beastmen, and more venomous animals than you can shake a stick at. When I came of age, I took part in a tribe ritual known as the Proving in which I had to hunt a beast on my own and bring back something as a trophy. In my case, I hunted a dinosaur known as a snapjaw (though I’ve heard they’re called “allosaurus” in other lands). After felling the beast, I took its jaw bones back to my tribe and proved myself an adult. Later I would use my trophy to make a twinblade, using the jaw bones in place of where metal blades would go. This became my weapon, Bonespur, and it has always been my most stalwart companion.

    After my Proving, I made up my mind to join the organization my father for so long helped but never became a part of. As a member of the Guild, I’ve gone on many adventures to different lands, slaying beasts and helping those in need. Some years have passed since I joined, and I have the battle scars to prove it. Each one is a reminder. Each one is a story.

    While a bit shorter than most Boccovians (I last measured at 5’6”), I was quite a good deal stronger, being both lithe and muscular. I grow my bright red hair down to my shoulders and keep a protective charm braided into the right side. My eyes are peridot green, my skin tanned from the time I spent outdoors, and my hands are always covered in calluses. My attire is a tad strange compared to most Boccovians, incorporating bits and baubles from all the places I’ve seen. A painted green ironwood spaulder from my homeland, a wolf fur mantle from Boccovia, a bead armband from canyon sages, a patterned yellow chest wrap from the arid plains of Ugankka, dark blue breeches and padded fur long boots from the Glacier Isles, and a light blue sash from the faraway deserts of Niraiyah, its colorful braided waist ties and a carved peridot in its center a sign of its fine craftsmanship. I even had a jeweled armband on my left forearm I got from helping a huldra village. Made from the seed of a dryad, it had grown roots and woven itself around my arm, which I decorated with gemstones. On my right hand is a fingerless blue glove with another protective bead charm around the wrist. This way, my hand could never be led astray by evil spirits and cause me to miss the mark. I preferred traveling light, so I only had a few bags and satchels on me. One thing I always keep with me (besides Bonespur and my guild token around my neck) is an ivory wolf necklace my father gave to me. It was given long ago, even before the Black Sky War. I was told that if ever I was in true danger, it would protect me.

    “Hmph. You can let your mind wander all you want, just as long as the rest of you doesn’t stray from the path,” said Hideaux. “We’re almost to Bannon Bridge. If you slip and fall into Moletooth River, you’re on your own.”

    Hideaux was a veteran member of the Guild. He was a scruffy and portly man with dark brown hair, a light tan, and blue eyes. His unshaven chin had hints of grey in the beard, and his hairy arms had tattoos around the biceps depicting wild animals in an autumn forest. He was wearing sturdy brown breeches, a white linen shirt, mud-caked boots (we had been on the road a while), and worn-in leather armor. Aside from his big traveling pack, he had brought along his longbow, a painted wooden shield, and a hand axe that rested in a belt loop. We only knew each other from shared missions, but we got along well enough. I joined the Guild so I could have an excuse to travel. Hideaux was a more practical man. With a wife and kids at home, he put his life on the line so they could live well. Watching him pull out a wine bottle and take a swig, though, it was clear “they” included himself.

    “By the gods, man. Why’d you bring something like that along?”

    “A man’s got to drink, doesn’t he?” said Hideaux.

    “We’re almost to a river!”

    Hideaux laughed. “Well I’m thirsty now! Besides, I have no intention of fighting the moletoads over their sandbanks. If you want to deal with them, be my guest. I’ll save my energy for that mage.”

    I took another glance at the wanted poster we had taken from the last Guild branch we were at. It was a bounty for a man named Orthyx, a rogue mage. 2,000 gold for bringing him in alive, or 1,000 if he was brought in dead. Either way, it made for an easy split. The previous ruler of Boccovia was Alderman, and while he was a benevolent ruler, I had heard once from Nicholas himself (as my father and I had visited him on the occasion) that he was also naïve. The man had been surrounded by ambitious nobles and self-interested magi who took advantage of Alderman’s kindness, but once Nicholas sat the throne, he was quick to clean house. Those who didn’t bend the knee and follow Nicholas’ lead fled the capital. In the safety of the post-war wild lands that were still being resettled, these magi were left to their own devices. Far enough from the capital to avoid bother, some became unofficial lords, waving their power around to cow fresh settlers. Others returned to their studies and research. In Orthyx’s case, research meant disappearing villagers.

    The two of us reached Bannon Bridge, which took us over a large river that flowed below. The white rapids crashed against sharp rocks, kicking up mist that washed over my face. It was a welcome respite after so much time walking. Had there been horses to spare, we could have saved ourselves some trouble, but stable masters had struggled to keep stock with so many in need (and hungry monsters on the loose besides). I didn’t mind, though. It just meant more time to take in the sights.

    The sun shone over the grassy plains and descending cliffs before us. A thin layer of dirt and dust was kicked up with our every step. I stopped, taking a moment to wipe the sweat from my brow. That’s when I noticed the once cool breeze had halted. Something was amiss. I reached for Bonespur and readied for the worst.

    “Hm? What is it now, Reah? You don’t think this bridge has a troll, do you?” When Hideaux finished, a loud splash rang out, and a creature leaped from the river, landing in front of us. “What the devil?!”

    It was an elemental. Its watery body was in the shape of a horse, and what passed for a mane was like a rolling fog. Shimmering eyes like gemstones stared us down as Hideaux pulled out his axe. But then the elemental approached in a calm, slow trot.

    “Wait,” I said, putting out my hand. “I don’t think it’s hostile.”

    “Isn’t that an elemental, Reah?” asked the sweating Hideaux. I gave a nod. “How do you know it can be trusted?”

    “I don’t, but let’s see what it wants first. If it tries anything, don’t hold back.”

    As we tried to maintain our composure, the water horse stopped a few feet in front of me. It glanced over to Hideaux for but a moment before looking back at me.

    “Honored child,” its words echoing in my mind, “thou hast journeyed many moons, and I sense a great fatigue. If thou would permit, I shall take thee down the road.”

    “But why?” I asked in my mind.

    “My master knows your father well. I would not permit such an esteemed guest to toil upon their boots so long.”

    “If you’re offering, I accept – but only if you bring him along as well.”

    The elemental looked to Hideaux one last time, then telepathically said, “It shall be done.”

    Another elemental of similar shape to the first appeared on the bridge. Hideaux took a step back.

    “Uh, Reah? If you have a plan, I’d really like to hear it!”

    I took a look at the mythical steeds before me, feeling a well of excitement in my gut. “I say we ride!”

    “What?!”

    “Just trust me. These two mean us no harm.” I quickly saddled myself upon the first elemental, feeling the soft yet dense watery body beneath me. I then gestured to Hideaux. “Come on, man! Where’s your sense of adventure? You were acting so calm a minute ago!”

    Hideaux scoffed at my comment, but approached the water horse, nonetheless. The gairen people - one of the natives of Boccovia - were superstitious to a fault, and Hideaux was no exception. Yet even from the start, I sensed no malice in these creatures. Once we were ready, the first elemental let out a bubbly neigh and took off, with Hideaux and the other elemental riding close behind. As the two water horses galloped, splashing white waves followed in their wake. I felt myself bob up and down as we rode like I was on a true horse, yet they were gentle bobs, as if calm river waters were flowing around me, and the rise and fall was like the ebb and flow of a tide. A wet muddy trail grew behind us as we traveled further and further west, passing rolling hills, sparse woods, and a great burial site where the gravestones were as numerous as stalks of wheat in a field. Two hours must have passed, maybe even more. During that time, I tried to speak to the elemental I rode upon.

    “Who is this master you referred to earlier?”

    “A great power in the realm I call home. She and your father have something of a history together,” said the elemental.

    “What, as lovers?”

    The elemental snorted in protest. “More as allies… And enemies.”

    “I don’t understand. I’ve never heard of this woman.”

    “Such things needn’t be understood, simply known. And know, too, that she watches over you, even now.”

    I wasn’t sure what to say. It was clear the elemental didn’t want to divulge the details, but why? Why did it matter if I knew? This and dozens of other questions rolled around in my head as we continued our trek west. Finally, we reached a crossroad near the town of Mildan. The horses stopped in its center.

    “This is as far as we go, honored child,” said the water horse. “May the tide remain in your favor.”

    “Wait, who is your master? What’s her name?!”

    But it was too late. The horses ran south, fading into mist and disappearing. All we could do was watch and scratch our heads.

    “Hmph! What strange creatures,” said Hideaux. He then touched his rump, realizing all too late that it had been soaked. “Oh, well isn’t that just great. Good thing I brought a drying spell wand!” Hideaux reached into his pack to pull out the magically-charged stick, but when he tried using it, nothing happened. “What? I’ve barely used this thing! How is it already out of spell power?”

    “Wasn’t that a bargain bin wand?” I asked.

    “There’s a difference between a bargain and a scam! Hopefully this backwater town has an inn with a fireplace. If I knew this damn thing wouldn’t work, I would have brought an extra pair of pants!” As he fumed, I couldn’t help but laugh at Hideaux’s complaints. “What’s so damn funny?” he growled. “These were my best pair! And besides, cold water on the skin is the perfect way to catch a cold. Unlike you, I don’t bounce back from being sick so easily. I have to take good care of myself!”

    “And you think I don’t have to take care of myself, you old codger? How do you think I maintain these?” I knocked my fist against my abs.

    “Bah! Good looks are wasted on the young.”

    That’s just how it was with us. We helped each other just as much as we poked fun at each other. I didn’t mind the quiet of solo travel but having someone to banter with made time pass pleasantly.

    As we approached Mildan, the dark sturdy wood of the buildings came into view. It was a well-built town, if a bit weathered. Its stone walls were in need of repair, showing signs of cracks and scorch marks from recent years of turmoil. It didn’t surprise me. Many of the demons that had appeared during the Black Sky War were migrating west towards the desert lands, and with the country of Quinavelle resting against the mountain border that separated east and west Boccovia, it was safe to assume the people had seen quite a few nasties as of late. When we reached the gate, the guards on the wall were quick to question us, sounding harsh and agitated. It was only when Hideaux pulled out his Guild token that the two guards looked at each other and nodded, letting us in. It was a palm-sized bronze coin with an eye symbol on one side and a hawk wing symbol on the other, representing the God of Magic, Gicaccius, and Boccovia respectively. The sight of it was proof we were here on serious business.

    Inside, various parts of the shanty town were mid-construction. Even the cobblestone streets were halfway done, leaving the mud and dirt exposed here and there. It would take more people, and more stone besides to finish off the project. As for the people, their clothes were conservative and mostly colorless. Whites, greys, and blacks. Everyone kept a close eye on me and Hideaux as we made our way through Mildan, passing us distrustful glances before disappearing into buildings or alleyways. It was a claustrophobic town with all too many nooks and crannies for people to hide away in. We both stayed on alert, knowing all too well the dangers of desperate folk.

    “So what are you thinking, old man?” I asked in a hushed tone.

    “An inn couldn’t hurt. There’s bound to be a bloke or two to spare good gossip for coin,” replied Hideaux.

    “Then I’ll follow your lead.”

    Hideaux examined the signs around the town, which were mostly in Igearan. We both had a passing understanding of the dialect, and quickly found a watering hole named “The Mudpie”.

    “Charming,” I smirked.

    “Better than the last one we visited. This one doesn’t have any broken windows.”

    “Not yet anyway.”

    Hideaux shot me a glare then pressed through the entrance. Once our eyes adjusted, we could see a long sitting bar taking up the right side of the room, several simple tables and chairs, support beams, a stairway on the left, a firepit on the wall opposite the door, and several tired-looking workers. Most wore simple clothes stained by dust and stony debris, and despite the good weather and bright sun from before, the people here were pale of skin with dark eyes, dark hair, and cold expressions. The only one inside that looked happy to see us was a black and white-furred dog that came up to sniff my pantleg.

    “There’s a good boy,” I said, rubbing its head. It was clear it wanted a treat, so I helped it to a bit of jerky from my travel rations. Its eyes lit up with delight, and until it grew bored and went elsewhere, it stayed by my side.

    Hideaux led the way to the bar where both he and I sat on sturdy but rough-edged stools. The man behind the bar scribbled on a loose piece of parchment then approached our side of the bar, setting his hands down.

    “Welcome, travelers. What can I get you?”

    “Two mugs of chilled wine, some bread, fruit, and cheese.”

    “I never said I wanted wine,” I protested.

    “Who said the second cup was for you?” Hideaux smirked. I rolled my eyes and smiled back.

    “We don’t have fruit at the moment,” the bartender said.

    “That’s fine,” said Hideaux. “Here’s some money for the order.”

    I looked down, noticing five silver stags – a common mint in Boccovia. It was far more than the order would cost in most towns (especially of the backwater variety), but Hideaux was no stranger to these environments. The bartender’s sour expression turned warm at the sight of coin and said, “This will do. Give me a moment.”

    After the other customers got bored of staring at us, conversation returned and the buzzing of life (what little there was) filled the air. People walked in and out, some drunk, others tired and sober. One of the workers was hitting on a serving girl who seemed not wholly against the advances, and the two disappeared to who knows where. Nothing unusual at all, by my wager.

  “Here you go,” said the bartender, returning with the order. “Let me know if you need anything.” Hideaux nodded to the man, and he walked away to attend someone else.

  “So,” Hideaux said, slicing the bread and cheese. “What was with those things on the bridge? You seemed to recognize them faster than I.”

  “Can’t say I know for certain… They spoke without words, whispering in my head. They knew my father,” I replied.

  “Sheesh. No wonder he buggered off to his homeland. If I was that famous, I’d quit the Guild and live in a cave… Hopefully a dry one. Speaking of,” he paused, looking over at the firepit, “I have a rump to roast. I’ll be back. Help yourself,” he gestured to his plate before getting up. Wine cup in hand, he approached the pit and talked up the first person he saw, and that was that.

  By myself, I took a piece of cheese, smelled it, then took a bite. It had a sharp aroma, and a real bite to it. Not bad, but not my favorite. I washed the flavor down with the fruity wine, then my thoughts returned to the elementals. They couldn’t have been related to my quest. Who, then, was their master? Whoever it was, they must come from high places… Or low ones.

  “Hey there,” a voice called out. A brawny man with a shaved head, dark eyes, and bushy beard took the stool to my left. “Can’t say I’ve seen you around before. Who are you?”

  “The name’s Reah. And you?”

  “Call me Mule. Are you one of those adventuring types?”

  “What gave it away?”

  “It’s not every day that someone comes through Mildan toting around,” the man’s eyes scanned me until he looked at the jewel on my sash, “such nice greenery. Except for traders.”

  “Okay, you got me. Here,” I said, slapping the wanted poster down on the bar. “You know the guy?”

  Mule was taken aback by my own forwardness, but then looked over the poster. “Can’t say I know him, but he looks like a mage.”

  “You’d be correct on that. His name is Orthyx. Word is people have been disappearing around this area ever since he showed up. Do you know anything?”

  The once friendly Mule seemed to go pale at my words and quickly backed off. I tried asking around a bit more, but no one seemed willing to talk. Either they were scared, ignorant, or both.

  “Any luck on your end?” I asked Hideaux upon my approach.

  “Not a bit. These are a tight-lipped folk. They don’t trust outsiders a wink.”

  “Can’t say I blame them. What now, though?”

  “We pub crawl our way through the town until we get answers or have to retire for the evening. Either way I’m good.”

  I shook my head. “You’re the expert. Come on, then. Let’s get moving.”

  Hideaux and I continued our way through the ramshackle town of Mildan, asking questions, slipping coin, and looking for clues. We got confirmation enough that the rumors were true, but we were also told in rather colorful language to stay out of it. So averse to outsiders, they shunned the help of strangers at their own expense.

  It was evening when we decided to call it for the day. The sun was already disappearing behind the mountains to the west, flashing rays of brilliant gold before being blot out completely. The sky remained clear as it darkened, and the distant sound of chirping crickets and other insects sounded off night’s arrival. Windows lit up as people continued their business well into the night. With such varied light, it made it difficult for my eyes to adjust. Luckily, my ears were just as fine-tuned.

  On our way back to an inn we reserved rooms at, we found the streets had grown quiet. Then, the sudden scuff of boots on dirt rang out.

  “Behind us!” I yelled. I turned and caught a club in my hand, kicking my attacker away before dodging back from the others. Several men wearing grain sacks with eye holes had cornered us in the northwest part of town, and each of them wielded either clubs, knives, or hammers.

  Hideaux raised his shield then pushed back against one of the men. “So that’s how it is, eh?” He stopped talking, getting his axe out and spinning it around so the blade faced away. Taking note, I left Bonespur on my back and balled up my fists.

  The next man to take a swing at me got a fist to the gut, falling over in an instant. Two more swung wild – one to distract and the other to harm. I kicked dirt in the eye of the first and knocked the other over with a swift kick to the leg. Taking hold of a falling club, I smacked the other across the face while he was rubbing his eyes. A fourth managed a slash across my arm in the heat of the moment. I jammed my elbow towards him, smashing into his collarbone.

  While I kept the bulk of the group fended off, Hideaux was slugging his attackers across the face with the back of his axe. Unfortunately, the man whose collarbone I shattered stumbled into Hideaux, pushing him back against the wall and leaving him open for a clubbing across the head. I turned to aid him – a bad decision – and received a clubbing to my own head as reward. I lost balance for a moment, feeling hands try to pull me to the ground. It was then I decided to take things seriously.

  The tribe I hail from is known to be in-tune with nature, using magical arts to mimic and change into the beasts of the wild. Some turn fully into animals, while others merely copy aspects of them. In my case, I was more like the latter. Calling upon the unrelenting fury of the boar, my muscles bulked up as I threw off the five men upon me. Some smashed into the walls or nearby crates and barrels, while others skid across the ground. I then dashed towards one trying to knife Hideaux in the side, picked him up by his head, then smashed him into the ground.

  “Reah!” Hideaux shouted. A new figured emerged from hiding behind me, taller and brawnier than the rest. He punched me across the face as I stood back up, pushing me back. I then traded a few blows with him. He put up his arms and absorbed most of the blows, but it was clear it was more than he could handle. Rather than knock him out like the others, I came up with a new plan. I reached for Bonespur. Hideaux’s eyes went wide.

  “Don’t worry. There’ll be no more blood tonight,” I hissed through clenched teeth. Kicking the man before me in the knee staggered him. While his guard dropped, I pulled Bonespur free from its buttoned holder, flicked a switch near the center of the handle, then swung a blade toward my attacker. Rather than take his head off, however, the blade extended further out, its hidden chain released. The chain wrapped around the man’s neck, and one quick yank later I had him in my grasp. The first thing I did was pull of that grain sack. “Wait… Mule?”

  “You know this guy?” said Hideaux, moving to my side.

  “I met him at the Mudpie. He was the first one I questioned.”

  “In that case,” Hideaux grabbed one of the thugs’ knives, “spill the stew, prick.” Hideaux got the knife nice and close to Mule’s left eye as he said, “Are you working with Orthyx? Tell us!”

  “Piss off! I don’t care about a mangy wizard!”

  “Then why did you attack us?” I asked.

  Mule kept silent, so I tightened the chain around his neck. Finally he broke. “This was just a mugging, I swear! You think I’d let a gem like the one on your sash pass me up? One of those traders would set me up for a year if I gave ‘em that!”

  Hideaux frowned, looking at my sash. “He’s not wrong.”

  Before we could press further, the commotion had finally gotten the attention of some guards. I released Mule from Bonespur’s chains. “What should we do? We were just defending ourselves.”

  “The guards won’t care,” came a whisper from an alleyway. “Quickly, to me!”

  “Who are you?” I asked.

  “Someone who’s gonna get you out of this. Now come on!”

  Hideaux and I exchanged glances before slipping into the alleyway and leaving the thugs behind. The stranger led us through the snaking cracks throughout the town before slipping us outside. After we put a bit of distance between us and the town, the stranger pulled his hood back. He was a scraggly looking man with grey hair and a glass eye.

  “Name’s Ilva. You two sure like to wave your wealth around.”

  “That wasn’t my intention,” I said.

  “Doesn’t matter. Money’s scarce in these parts. When you’re in Mildan, you keep your friends close and your coppers closer.”

  Noting the expression, I looked at Hideaux, remembering the silvers he first put down.

  “What?” he said.

  “It’s nothing.”

  Hideaux pulled unfolding chairs off of his travel pack and the three of us took a breather out in the cold grassy fields. The wind had picked up in the night, masking the crickets and muffling the sounds of guards back in the town. Perfect weather for conversation.

  “Saw you blokes in the Mudpie,” said Ilva. “I wanted to approach, but the rest of the townsfolk made it too hard.”

  “What’s with them, anyway?” I asked.

  “Times are troubled. Town’s poor, people are disappearing, and monsters keep attacking at random. Everyone’s on edge, so even a hint of the foreign is enough to make them reach for their pitchforks. When you have people showing up clearly of wealth and from far away, it shouldn’t be much of a surprise that they tried to gut you in the night.”

  “Speaking of, you’re still bleeding,” Hideaux pointed at my wound.

  “Oh yeah… I kinda forgot.”

  “Of all the things to forget!”

  I dismissed his concern with a wave of my hand and set to healing the wound. I lacked the talent for magic that my father had, but I was adept enough at channeling my own ether. Pulling upon the same magic running through my veins as any other natural creature, I weaved a spell to seal the wound, hastening the healing process. After wetting a cloth with my waterskin and wiping my arm, I was as good as new.

  “That’s some trick,” said Ilva.

  “It’s no trick,” I said. “I could even teach you if you have the potential.”

  Ilva shook his head. “I’ll be fine without it.”

  “Surely there’s something we can do. You saved our hides, after all.”

  “Yeah… Why did you help us, anyway?” asked Hideaux.

  “Because,” Ilva paused, looking over his shoulders, “I know where Orthyx lives.”

  He had my attention. Finally, someone who can actually help us. Hideaux, however, remained skeptical.

  “Sounds good to me. A bit too good, I wager. What’s the catch?”

  “I want a cut of the bounty.”

  Hideaux bit his lip. “I figured as such. How much?”

  “A third. As acting guide, I can take you where he was last headed, but I won’t settle for less.”

  “You’re out of your mind! We’ll be the ones putting our lives on the line when we get there!”

  “But we don’t have any other leads,” I cut in.

  “Still…”

  “What’s your answer?” Ilva asked. “If you won’t pay, we’re done here.”

  “We can pay, but we won’t get the bounty until after we return Orthyx to the authorities. If you’re fine with the walk, then we can pay you when we get there.”

  “In that case, I want half of my share now.”

  “You sodden-” Hideaux got up from his chair and was about ready to grab Ilva, but the bruises he got from earlier made him wince, so he sat back down. “How do we even know we can trust you? What proof do you have of where Orthyx is?”

  “I filched something from him when I had the chance, though I’m not sharing until I get half of my cut.”

  “And I’m not paying until I know I can trust you.”

  The two men glared at each other. Hideaux wasn’t in the wrong. Anyone could have overheard us earlier and start claiming they know where our mark was, but whether it was truth or lie was another matter. Luckily, healing wasn’t the only spell I knew. I reached for a knife sheathed in my boot and ran two fingers across the blade, sparking the knife with white and blue light.

  “Reah?” Hideaux looked at the dagger, then at me, his mouth turning to a grin upon recognition of the spell. Then he sat back and let me work.

  “Ilva, I have enough money to pay half of your share now, but we have to know you’re telling the truth.” Brandishing my knife, I said, “I’ve enchanted my dagger. If the next thing you say is truth, it cannot harm you. However, if what you say next is a lie, the dagger will cut as deep as any other. Will you give me your hand?”

  “You could be lying yourself,” he said. “Use it on yourself first.”

  “Of course.” I paused for a moment, considering what story to share, then said, “Once when I was a child, I pretended I was a snake and tried to swallow an egg whole, but the shell broke and got caught in my throat.” I ran the blade across my left palm, drawing no blood.

  “Wait, you really did that?” asked Hideaux.

  “Yes. It was one of the most unpleasant things I had ever experienced.” Hideaux held in his laughter while I turned my attention back to Ilva. “So, now that I have shown proof, will you give me your hand?”

  Ilva was hesitant at first, but it was clear he recognized the trap. If he didn’t give his hand, that meant he was lying. Begrudgingly, he passed his hand over.

  “So do you truly know where we can find the rogue wizard Orthyx?” I asked, clutching him by the wrist.

  “I do. I can show you both to where best to find him.” At this, I cut across Ilva’s hand with the dagger. When no blood was drawn, I let him go. Ilva breathed a sigh of relief and leaned his head back. “Seven hells, I’m glad that’s over. Now what about my pay?”

  I slipped coins out from my pouch and passed them over to Ilva. He inspected them and put them in a pocket.

  “All right. We held up our end of the bargain, so it’s your turn,” I said.

  With a nod, Ilva pulled out a scroll and unfurled it before us. Channeling a pinch of ether to the end of my fingertip, I summoned a small ball of light, and the three of us read it.

    “These look like an architect’s papers,” said Hideaux. “Seems our wizard friend wanted to set up a small fortress.”

    “Indeed,” said Ilva. “He last came through town disguised as a trader, so I thought to filch a magic scroll from his pack mule. What I found instead was this. And do you see these notes around the edges?”

    Ilva’s hands were shaky, but I could read the notes well enough. According to the notes, the fortress was being constructed somewhere on the Skittering Mountains, a range northeast from Mildan. It would take at least two days to walk there, and more to get up the mountains and look, but we had our destination. I snuffed out my light spell by squeezing it in my hand, then leaned back.

    “That’s a good distance away. We should make sure we have everything we need before we go,” I said.

    “Yeah, but with the trouble we stirred up, I’m not sure getting supplies will be easy,” said Hideaux.

    “I can help. You two only just arrived, so not everyone knows your faces. I can slip you back inside at first light when the merchants are opening shop. You’ll have an hour before the guards start making their rounds in the streets proper, so that should be plenty of time to supply yourselves.”

    “Sounds like a plan,” I said. “In that case, let’s turn in for the night. We have a lot ahead of us tomorrow.”

    “Agreed,” said Hideaux. After untying a long sheet of treated hide, Hideaux and I constructed a lean-to out of sight of the town, then we set our bedrolls down. Ilva parted ways with us, returning to Mildan. Come morning, we would meet him near the western gate.

    As I closed my eyes, I said, “Hey Hideaux, do you think Ilva can be trusted?”

    “About as much as cats can be trusted with yarn, but we have to make do.”

    “All right.” I almost asked him a second question, but he started snoring soon after. I kept the question to myself for the rest of the night, contemplating the day’s events until I, too, slipped into the realm of dreams.

---

    The next morning, we were met with a cold grey sky.

    Ilva helped us back into town. I focused on gathering necessities, like refilling our rations in case food proved scarce. Hideaux, on the other hand, was buying potions from a local alchemist. After I finished things on my end, I sought him out and approached just as his dealings reached their end.

    “I wouldn’t need it to last that long, so I’ll take that one instead. Here’s your coin.”

    “Thank you, sir.”

    Hideaux handed a few coins to the withered-looking alchemist then set the vials into a side-pouch.

    “Got everything?” I asked.

    “Yeah, I’m ready. That wizard won’t know what hit him. Literally.” I tilted my head at this statement, to which Hideaux patted his pouch and whispered, “Potion of invisibility” with a smirk.

    As we made our way to the meeting spot where Ilva awaited, I couldn’t help but wonder. A proper alchemist’s wears can cost several gold crowns (another Boccovian mint), but Hideaux had only paid a fraction of the cost.

    “Hideaux,” I started, “that alchemist back there… Are you sure they’re proper?”

    “What do you mean?”

    “You barely paid anything for those potions. You weren’t trying to copper pinch again, were you?”

    Hideaux scoffed at me. “Relax, it’s nothing of the sort. You just don’t know how to haggle. Back when I was…” Hideaux trailed off, glancing at passer-by. “Well, before I was in my current profession, every coin mattered. And sure, I do like to splurge every once and a while, but I can only do that because I know how to spend my money.”

    “Are you certain? This isn’t like that cheap wand, right?”

    “Of course not! Fret about your own self for once. We only know so much about the enemy. For all we know, we might not be able to take him down. If things get bad, you save your own skin first. Got it?”

    “Don’t lose hope before we even get there. You’re going to see your family at the end of all this, all right?”

    Hideaux shrugged. “Had no intention of doing otherwise. Just don’t get hurt on my behalf like yesterday.” The man then moved ahead. I sped my pace to catch up, meeting him and Ilva near an open gate. Together, we left the town of Mildan behind and began our trek northeast.

    The three of us walked through more rolling hills of green, some of which were used as ancient burial mounds. I could feel a faint energy coming from each, a sort of buzzing of ether like the fluttering wings of insects around a campfire. We saw no signs of men along the trail, only the occasional wild beast. Around midday I spotted a healthy buck grazing. A well-placed stone from my sling later and it was stunned, laying on the ground. I offered a small prayer to Gerovi, God of nature, so that the animal’s spirt could find peace in the afterlife before I slit its throat. After I butchered the animal and wrapped the meat I could carry, I took its hide and antlers with me. My tribe would be ashamed of me if I let anything on an animal go to waste. After that, I tied the meat I couldn’t take to strings and hung them from a nearby tree as a peace offering to the land’s beasts. Later that night, Hideaux, Ilva, and I had a small feast of deer meat. What we couldn’t eat, we smoked. As I had hoped, nothing bothered us over the night or the next day.

    Upon the third day when the Skittering Mountains grew near, I sized up each of the mountains. One of them had faint traces of magic along a half-made path leading up.

    “It’s this way. I’m sure of it,” I said.

    “I’ll let you take lead, then,” said Hideaux.

    With me in the front, Ilva in the middle, and Hideaux behind, we marched single file up the left-most mountain in the range. Even if I couldn’t tell the ether here had been stirred up, there were many signs of tampering and even construction in certain parts – most notably, a small wooden bridge covering a gap between the rocks. I tested its weight then made my way across, quickly followed by the others.

    While the climb up the mountain was easy, we were far from alone. On more than one occasion did spider-like creatures burst from holes in the sides of the mountain. Their holes had a rancid smell, however, so they lacked the element of surprise they so heavily relied on. Sliced legs and swift kicks were enough to dispatch the beasts, though one nearly dragged me off the cliff by firing web at me as it fell. There were other creatures up in the mountain as well. Birds of prey roosting on rocks and roots, lizards, and even skittergoats – small goat-like creatures with pure black eyes and a single horn on their heads like a unicorn’s.

    “You know, I once heard miners used skittergoats to detect danger in their mines,” said Hideaux. “If there were monsters, the skittergoat’s horn would buzz and vibrate, but if it remained still, everything was fine.” At Hideaux’s words, we all looked at a nearby skittergoat’s horn. It vibrated gently as the impish creature looked and bleated at us before hopping away with surprising speed. “Huh… I sure hope it thought we were monsters.”

    “Just in case, keep your eyes open,” I said. I drew Bonespur from my back and turned to Ilva. “In case something happens, run. If you can’t run, hide. Just like with the arachnids, Hideaux and I will handle things.”

    “Of course,” Ilva nodded. “I’m fine with acting as a guide, but that’s all I was paid for. The rest is up to you.”

---

    The mountaintop was quiet.

    What felt like an hour had passed since the skittergoat, and after some searching, we finally found the entrance to Orthyx’s fortress. A thick stone doorway hid a dark and dusty cavern, feeling more like a mausoleum than a cave. Hideaux lit a sealed lantern on his hip and readied his axe and shield. While Ilva kept his distance in the back, Hideaux and I pressed forward.

     Half-finished grey stone halls extended before us, rough and bumpy as could be expected. It was clear that Orthyx’s fortress was far from complete. The path branched, but not for long, and we quickly found another stone door - likely for Orthyx’s chamber.

    “There it is,” Hideaux whispered. “Ready yourself.”

    A muffled thud came up from above, causing me to stop. “Wait, did you hea-”

    Before I could finish, the ceiling gave way. Stone exploded towards us as a great lumbering beast crashed to the ground, landing in front of me and my companion. Almost immediately, golden rays of light shot all around us like a volley of arrows. In that moment, my body moved on its own. I picked up Hideaux and ran for cover, narrowly avoiding the magic rays. The debris from the ceiling provided ample cover, so the two of us squatted behind the rocks to try and assess things.

    “What in the seven hells is that?” whispered Hideaux.

    It was hard to tell at first, as one of the rays had destroyed Hideaux’s lantern. When the dust settled and my eyes adjusted, I caught a glimpse of our foe. It was a gigantic lumbering creature with thick stocky legs and a bulbous body that was nothing more than red meat and dozens of eyes. The moment I looked at it, the beast’s eyes turned on me, firing off another volley of golden rays. Once more, Hideaux and I ran for cover – this time behind a large boulder. Its reflexes were top-notch, and it was clear the creature had no issue seeing in the dark. Whatever our next move was, it had to count.

    “Wait, where’s Ilva?” I whispered.

    “No time to worry about that. I’m going to pop that invisibility potion and fill its eyes full of arrows. When you see an opening, don’t hesitate.” I gave Hideaux a nod and the man reached into his pouch, quaffed his potion, turned invisible, then moved away. I heard footsteps followed by a bowstring being pulled taught, then an arrow flew through the air, hitting its mark. But after Hideaux’s first arrow, he suddenly reappeared. “What? How did-”

    The creature made a horrid gurgling noise and unleashed its wrath. Innumerable shafts of golden light converged on Hideaux’s chest. I thought he was a goner, but he managed to block with his shield in the last moment. The shield turned to scorched splinters as the man was sent flying, slamming into a wall with a terrible crack. He was either unconscious, or far, far worse.

    I nearly yelled out my friend’s name, but I choked it down. Unnecessary noise would do me no good. What I needed was information. What I needed was a plan. I took a moment to regain my composure, taking a slow, deep breath. What light the magic rays had made were gone, and I needed time to readjust. Even then, it proved a struggle to see. My eyes were sharper than most humans, but even I still needed some light. I reached into my pouch, retrieving bullets normally meant for my sling. Channeling trace amounts of ether into them with a whispered incantation, I closed my hand around the bullets. I shimmied to the edge of the boulder, then with a toss, the glowing bullets sailed through the cavern. It wasn’t long until the creature’s rays started chasing them. Most were destroyed in an instant, but a few survived, leaving just enough light to help me see.

    Now that the cavern was no longer pitch black, I took stock of the situation. Hideaux was unconscious, burned, and full of shrapnel. He would need treatment soon or he would bleed to death, if he wasn’t already… No. He was alive. He had to be. My eyes moistened for a moment as I continued looking around. The creature was lumbering towards one of the bullets. Not so much maliciously, but more like a curious animal. So distracted, I finally got a proper look at it. It was an eye-beast. I had heard of their lot before. Grotesque as they were, they were manmade. No one knew for sure how they were made, but since they were often employed as guards by mad wizards and cultists, it was safe to assume the method was less than palatable. Being a type of construct, it likely lacked the intelligence of a thinking guard. This mattered little, however, as its dense, bloated body and swift attacks would make most confrontations a death sentence. There had to be some manner of weakness to it, though. I just had to keep looking.

    I turned my attention to the rest of the cavern. I knew where the eye-beast and Hideaux were, but the whereabouts of Ilva were another matter. It wasn’t long until I found the man. He was crouched next to Hideaux, pilfering his body.

    “Ilva!” I shouted in a whisper. “What are you doing?!”

    He looked up at me and smirked. “Helping myself to the rest of the share, of course.”

    “Are you crazy? You’re gonna get killed!”

    “Tsk. No need to worry about that. Orthyx gave me this,” he said, pulling out a magic pendant he had hidden under his tunic. “You could say we have a little… Arrangement. It’s nothing personal, of course. It’s just business.���

    I felt a fire burning in my blood in that moment, but I was distracted from my anger when I noticed something peculiar about the pendant. Part of it looked broken. Spotting the missing piece nearby, I remembered all the sharp debris that went flying when the eye-beast first appeared. One of the rocks must have struck the pendant without Ilva noticing. And if that was the case, that meant…

    “Best of luck with that beastie! You’ll be needing it!” Ilva got up and walked off with a swagger, laughing all the while. The once distracted eye-beast took notice, immediately firing on him. A moment of confusion fell across the thief’s face before he was eviscerated, exploding in a fountain of blood and charred meat. It seemed that without the pendant, the eye-beast would kill indiscriminately.

    While Ilva’s death was as horrid as it was deserved, the way the creature reacted, as well as the way its beams moved gave me an idea. It was clearly a reactive thing, not actively seeking targets the way other monsters might. And when the beams fired upon Ilva, they all came together in the end, almost like they could be focused into one devastating blast. The time it took for this to happen was consistent with its other volleys. This could only mean that foes at a distance were at the greatest risk. I glanced at Hideaux once more, holding back the urge to drag him to safety and treat him. He was bleeding bad, but if the eye-beast was truly a reactive sentry, it was just as likely to fire on his unconscious body as it was on me.

    While behind cover, I set my weapon aside and rifled through one of my packs. While I knew some magical spells, my knowledge was limited. I compensated for this with scrolls, whose arcane words contained the ether of other casters. Among my supplies, I found three scrolls. One was called “Magic Volley” which could pepper the beast with several small blasts. Not enough to harm, but enough to distract since the spell fired from every angle on its target. The second scroll was named “Cloud of Fog”. With luck, it would hide my presence. Finally, the last scroll was called “Eagle’s Flight”, which allowed the user to fly with magic wings, if only for a short time. The cavern was vast, but not vast enough to allow easy maneuvering. I slipped the Eagle’s Flight scroll back into my pack and made ready the others.

“Hold on, Hideaux. I’ll get us out of here,” I whispered.

    First, I traced my fingers across the Cloud of Fog scroll, activating its magic before flinging the spell toward the eye-beast. Soon enough, blankets of fog covered up its location. Then I used the Magic Volley scroll, and tiny sparkling bolts fired on the beast, striking at its eyes and making it gurgle with rage. Lastly, I ran to a broken piece of stone. It was a stalactite that had fallen to the ground after the ceiling broke open. While it was too heavy for an ordinary person to pick up, I was far from ordinary. Once more, I channeled the strength of beasts through my body. My teeth clenched, my veins popped, and my muscles bulged. Taking the stalactite in hand like a javelin, I hurled the stone straight through the fog. The stalactite slammed into the eye-beast. It stumbled from the impact and blood hissed from its wound. Now all that remained was to finish it off.

    Bonespur in hand, I made a mad dash toward the eye-beast. Already enough of the fog had cleared so that three of its eyes could see me. Rays of gold fired at me like arrows. I dodged two, taking one in the left shoulder. It burned, but my spaulder absorbed most of the impact. I leaped into the air and sliced diagonally, blinding those three eyes. A stubby, malformed arm shot out of its bloated body to try and grab me, but I ducked just in time. I continued to cut and slice into the thing, spilling more blood than any creature had a right to survive without. As if on instinct, it fired its beams with abandon, burning away the magic fog and doing what it could to kill me. Luckily, my theory proved correct. It could aim well enough at me, but I was too close for the beams to converge. I had reduced its sword to a mere letter opener.

    Flicking the switch to transform Bonespur, I grabbed hold of its two handles connected by chain. I spun about, slicing and tearing into the beast with my jawbone blades in swift, graceful arcs. Flesh split open, blood flowed, and with one final attack, I slammed both jawbones into the beast’s sides, digging the teeth in deep.

    “This is the end!”

    With a powerful kick, I knocked myself back while dragging the jawbones through the eye-beast’s body. It tried to fire on me one last time, but its life energy was spent. It collapsed to the ground with a ground-shaking thud. The fight was over.

    In the heat of the moment, I had ignored the wounds I took during the fight. But now that I had the chance to breathe, my whole body felt like it was on fire. Dozens of small scorch marks riddled my skin. Time and healing magic would fix things, however…

    “That’s far enough,” said an old man’s voice from behind. “Drop your weapon and turn around, slowly.”

    I turned to attack, but a fire bolt struck me in the knee. The spell hit my bone with the force of a hammer, making me wince. Against my better judgement, I obeyed the man, dropping Bonespur. As I looked up, I realized it was Orthyx. He stood some six feet in height with a braided grey and white beard, crimson eyes, and travel-worn imperial robes. He held a lantern in one hand and had a scorching fire spell ready in the other - just in case I felt extra brave that day.

    “Orthyx. We finally meet.”

    “And it will be our last meeting as well,” said the mage. “It’s trouble enough to create a good eye-beast. It’s another thing when you have to worry about mage hunters breathing down your neck all the while.”

    “Since you’re going to kill me, how are they made? I’m curious.” I needed time to think of a plan, but I genuinely wanted to know. When the old man grinned a grin most vile, I soon regretted my question.

    “You’re here for my bounty, yes? So you must know about the disappearances.”

    My blood ran cold at the statement. I glanced back down at the dead eye-beast, only now noticing hints of noses, small hands, and protruding teeth where they would be otherwise useless.

    “You didn’t…”

    “You think I care what becomes of common folk? I once sat on the imperial council! These caverns ill-suit someone of my breed, but I’ll fix things up soon enough. Once my fortress is complete, I’ll claim this territory for my new dynasty.”

    “You really think Nicholas is going to sit back and let you take Boccovian soil?”

    “It’ll be years before these lands are reclaimed. In the meantime, it’s every man for himself. I have nothing to fear from a mage hunter. I’ve dispatched several already. You’ll just be another body on the pile.”

    His words struck me as strange. Just me? Surely he could see Hideaux as well from his vantage point. I glanced over my shoulder for a moment, realizing his body was gone. At this, Orthyx called out.

    “What are you looking at? Tell me!”

    I smiled. “Just admiring the scenery.”

    “You think this is a game?! I should-” And that’s when a wine bottle smashed against the back of Orthyx’s head. A bloody, haggard Hideaux suddenly appeared behind the wizard, watching him fall unconscious.

    “Crazy bastard. That’s what you get for flapping your jaws.”

    “Hideaux!” Despite my injuries, I ran to the old man and nearly picked him up in a bear hug, but he shoved me away.

    “Hey! That hurts! We can save the happy tidings for after we get this loon in shackles.” Hideaux crouched down, pulling out a pair of enchanted manacles from his travel pack. They were made especially for the business of mage hunting by Guild enchanters. The cold iron metal sapped the ether from the wearer’s body, rendering even the greatest of mages powerless. With the shackles on Orthyx, he was nothing more than an old man. “There we go. Now to the matter of…” Hideaux paused, wincing. “… Patching things up.”

    “But how did you get the drop on Orthyx? Even I didn’t notice you sneak up on him.” At this, Hideaux smiled, pulling out two empty vials. “Two? I thought you only bought one potion.”

    “Who said I only bought one?”

    Hearing those words, I burst out laughing. For a moment, I forgot about the pain in my body. After that, I spent the next several minutes using healing magic and bandage wraps, doing what I could to seal Hideaux’s wounds and get him ready for the travel that was ahead of us. He complained the whole time, even saying I should heal myself as well, but I ignored him. I was just happy he made it out. When things were settled, we both stood back up. Hideaux tried squeezing his weapon hand, but doing so made him grit his teeth in agony.

    “Agh! My hand!”

    “Take it easy! You took a bolt straight through it. It’s a miracle you can move the fingers at all,” I said.

    “But if I can’t use this hand, what will I do?”

    I shook my head. “There’s no way to know for sure. Just take it easy. Time will heal the rest of your wounds.”

    I tried to reassure him, but I didn’t actually know. The best we could do was seek out a better healer on the return trip (which would cost a hefty share of the bounty), but even then, it might be too late. Hideaux would likely never hold a blade ever again.

    While Hideaux retrieved his belongings from the remains of Ilva, I decided to go through the second stone door. It was already open from when Orthyx had snuck out. Bright lights shined from within the cavern. I approached the entrance and stepped inside.

    The cavern had been decorated with all the trappings a former noble would want. A luxurious bed, a finely woven carpet, a wardrobe, work desk, and similar things. That wasn’t the only thing I found, however. Past the bedroom was a passageway to another room. A stairway led to the place where the eye-beast had been made, which included arcane circles, blood-stained tools, and the remains of men hanging from meat hooks. I took the bodies down and piled them up, burning them in the hopes that their spirits could finally move on to the afterlife.

    “What are you doing up there?” shouted Hideaux from below. I looked through the hole the eye-beast had made.

    “I’ll tell you later! Just give me a moment!”

    Putting that grizzly business behind me, I made my way back down the stairs. I hadn’t noticed before, but there was a hole on the wall opposite the stairs just big enough for a person to fit through. It was oval in shape, with its inner rims unnaturally smooth. The sight of it made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up, but curiosity overtook fear.

    I summoned a ball of light as I traveled through the tunnel. It led to a small cavern that the wizard must have visited, as different parts of the walls were covered in special scrolls. Protective scrolls, at that. The magic scrolls hung across several odd protrusions throughout the cavern. While it beggared belief, I say these words true. These things… They looked like limbs. Stony limbs, but limbs nonetheless. Were they another of Orthyx’s experiments? I had no idea. That’s when I felt something brush against my leg. I looked down. It was a hand-shaped rock coming out of the ground. I… Must have forgotten it was there and brushed against it. And yet, I was certain I had stepped into a clearing in the chamber.

    As I turned to leave the strange cavern, I stopped. Many times before I had felt the sensation of eyes upon me. In the past, these were mostly from beasts of the wild. Birds in flight. Natural things. Yet as I stopped at that cavern’s entrance, I felt something otherworldly looking at me. When I turned around, all I saw was a hole in the wall. A hole that hadn’t been there before. The ether coursing through one of my protective charms lit up.

    “What… What is this?”

    I fought with every fiber of my being to move, yet I found myself paralyzed. As I stared at the hole, I could see it growing and growing, moving towards me as if it were a mouth about to swallow me whole. The protective charm around my right hand sparked and burned. I had to get out of there, but why couldn’t I move! Why couldn’t I move?!

    “Reah!” a familiar voice called out. “What are you doing?” It was Hideaux. Control of my body returned. Only then did I notice I was grasping my ivory wolf necklace.

    “Hideaux! This cave! We have to get out of here!”

    “Well yeah, of course. How else will we get paid?”

    “No, I’m serious!” I pushed myself and him out. “There’s something wrong with that cave!”

    Hideaux tilted his head to look past me. “Looks like a normal cave to me.”

    “What?” I turned around, realizing that the hole, the hands, the limbs… They were all gone. All I saw were the protective scrolls barely hanging onto the rock, their edges burned. I covered my mouth with my hand, shaken. “No… I swear I saw something in there!”

    “Are you okay, Reah? You might be more worn out than I am. What did you see?”

    I glanced around, unsure how to answer. In the end I took a deep breath and said, “Nothing. Let’s get going.”

---

    It didn’t take long for the mage to wake up.

    While he struggled and tried to flee on multiple occasions, without his magic, Orthyx was helpless – though he still proved a stubborn bastard. Eventually I had to tie a rope around his waist and mine, binding us together. With few options left, he resigned himself to his fate.

    The trouble Orthyx caused did little to distract me from my thoughts. Though I had long left the cave behind, the things I saw and feelings I had still lingered in me like a bad stomachache. Since Hideaux didn’t see anything, I worried bringing it up while he was awake would only cause problems. I decided to wait until the second night to broach the question. Orthyx, who had been bound to a tree for the night, was pretending to sleep – as was I. When Hideaux started to snore, I got out of my bedroll and approached the mage.

    “Orthyx?” No response. “Hey! Orthyx!”

    With a groan, he said, “What is it now?”

    “When I was exploring your chambers, I found a strange room. What were you doing back there?”

    “All my rooms probably seemed strange to a country bumpkin like yourself,” he said dismissively.

    “No, that’s… I mean the cave with the oval entrance. The one with those special scrolls hanging all over the place.”

    Orthyx was quiet for a moment. “So you found that room, did you?”

    “What were you doing in there? Were you trying to summon something, or keep something under wraps?”

    “What does it matter? It’s just a cave. Nothing more, nothing less.”

    “But I saw something in that cave. And… I think you did too.”

    Orthyx looked up at me for the first time, his eyes a mixture of hatred and impatience. Yet somehow, I felt like we had an understanding.

    “You are from the far east, are you not? How much did your tribe teach you of nature and its elements?”

    “I was taught many things. We of the Crescent Valley have always been in-tune with the natural world.”

    “Given your questions, I highly doubt that. Allow me to enlighten you, savage. To be a true mage, one must have a keen understanding of the world. In its simplest terms, the world and everything in it is comprised of the five elements. Stone, water, fire, wind, and ether – the element of life. Ether can be found in everything. It’s in the air, the soil, and the very stars. It is the binding agent of this world and any other. Do you understand what this means?”

    “That everything, including the other four elements, have traces of ether in them?”

    “Yes. And if ether is the element of life-”

    “Everything else is… Alive…”

    Once more did Orthyx make that devilish grin. “Now you are beginning to understand. Not everything living is the same as you or me, but wherever ether gathers, so too does life. Remember that.”

    Orthyx refused to talk to me for the rest of the trip. I grappled with his answers the rest of the way to Mildan. My tribe always taught me that the world was alive, and I had to do everything I could to protect it. But my image of nature was beautiful and serene. Whatever I encountered in that cave felt alien and primordial. Has this world always been what it appears to be? I didn’t have an answer.

---

    Travel back to Mildan proved a difficult affair.

    After we made it to the backwater town, we explained the situation, showing the wanted poster. While the guards were ill at ease to see a wanted criminal (and a mage besides) dragged into town, they understood the purpose of the shackles well enough and arranged for a cart and horse so the prisoner could be transferred. While the guards held Orthyx overnight in their jail, Hideaux and I relaxed at the Mudpie. As soon as we sat down, the bartender passed us two mugs of chilled wine.

    “Here you go,” he said. “You both look like you need it.”

    “Are you sure we can have this?” I asked.

    “It’s fine,” said Hideaux. “I started a tab,” he grinned.

    “Word has already gotten around about that Orthyx,” said the bartender. “Nasty business, but just knowing the source of those disappearances is dealt with takes a great weight off my shoulders. You know…” The bartender paused, staring at the ground. “There was someone dear to me who disappeared a few months back. I tried to find her, but I had no luck. After everyone went hush, I didn’t know who to trust anymore. It’s good to know there’s still some justice in this world.”

    “Cheers to that!” said Hideaux, taking a swig from the cup in his good hand.

    After that, the bartender treated us to free dinner, as well as access to rooms with baths. As the evening came to a close, Hideaux turned to me and said, “Tell it to me straight. Do you think my hand will get better?” I hesitated for a moment.

    “We’ll have to go out of our way to find a good healer. It’ll be expensive, too.” Hearing this, Hideaux took a long swig of his drink and sighed.

    “Damn. Come all the way out here, get attacked in the streets, chased out of town, nearly die in a cave, and all for what? To get enough money to fix the injuries I got doing the job? Maybe my wife was right. It might be time to hang up the axe before I get myself killed.” Hideaux set his mug down, holding his hand in pain. “Either way, I should get this looked at. I’ll be useless at home with only one hand.”

    “Don’t worry. I’ll help with the bill. And even if we can’t get it fixed, I’m sure there will be plenty of ways you can help out back home.”

    “True, yes, but nothing quite as glamorous as the life of an adventurer,” he said with a chuckle. “I’ll be helping organize books in a church somewhere or pulling weeds one hand at a time in someone’s garden for the rest of my life.”

    “But you’ll have more time with your family.”

    Hideaux looked up at the ceiling for a moment, a tear in his eye. “Yeah… That I will. Maybe my new life won’t be so bad after all.”

    “That’s the spirit!” I gave him a pat on the back.

    A smile returned to the man’s face, and soon we made for our rooms. Just as Hideaux disappeared behind his door, he turned to me and said, “In the future, I hope you’ll have time to visit this old fool every now and again.”

    “Of course,” I said. “Who else am I going to share all my stories with?”

    With the door closed and locked, I took a bath, sprinkling healing herbs into the water to help ease the pain across my skin. Though the water proved warm and soothing, my mind wandered back to that scene in the cave. Just what happened in that place? Why did it seem as if the very rock was trying to swallow me up? Was it simply the visions of a strained mind and body, or did Orthyx speak true?

    I opened the shutters of the window next to the bath, glancing outside. The moon shined brightly up above, its white light painting the town and distant fields in shimmering silver. As I looked at the grass and soil beyond the town’s walls, I couldn’t help but think about my father.

    “You always looked so haggard… How much of the world have you seen that was never meant to be seen?”