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stationhousesix · 6 years

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My usual warning. This is a first draft which has not been read over.

The ground rumbled underneath their feet and a wail filled the sky a warning for what was to come next. Erin didn’t even need to warn her squad. Cornilla, Augtin and Daniel instinctively dove for the closest cover which out in the field was little deeper than a fox hole. They tensed at the creak of wood as the great altan pine trees split in two and their quills rained down on them like a hail of arrows. Rock burst and shards of pebbles followed by clouds of dirt and dust flew into the air. Filling Erin’s nostril with the scent of gunpowder and soil.

Another wail flew through the air, followed by another and another. Each one bitting through the trees, blasting craters in the rock around them. The ground rumbling with each impact. Erin gritted her teeth as the sounds of artillery fire filled the countryside.

Then everything fell silent. The ground stopped rumbling. The creaking of trees sputtered out, and the dust settled. It was a strange quiet. There was no sounds of birds, no flutter of wings or tweeting on the summer air. Seems the birds had more sense then them. It took Erin a moment to regain herself. Moving slowly at first in case it was only a brief pause before the assault would continue. She could taste dirt on her tongue. Looking up she could see the trees that had been proving them cover were shredded, most fallen over their branches of pine needles littering the ground and looked more like bushed now instead of the tall trees that covered the karzian countryside. The rough rocky, earth was littered in craters now, she had been lucky to have been just out of reach of the blast radius of one of the shots. Slowly rising to her knees, she gripped her rifle and held it into the air to make sure no one was out there. After a few moments of silence she stood to her full height content to see that the mess of artillery fire had knocked so many trees over they had a brief moment of complete cover from anything. Content with the situation she shouted, “Clear! Roll call, Augtin Fisher!”

The redhead’s helmet slowly rose above the rim of a crater a few meters away, “ H’ere!” His voice was shaky but she knew he would be okay. His uniform was covered in dirt and dust and a crown of needles rested on his metal helmet. He seemed unharmed and she took a breath with that, counting silently to herself, ‘One.’ Before looking over the grounds and calling out, “ Cornilla Carpenter!”

There was a rustle in the pile of quills and out came Cornilla limping over using her rifle as a crouch. “ Here and doing alright.” She smiled hobbling forward and added “Just a little sore.”

Erin looked her over, she didn’t seem to be bleeding, and was covered in fine green quills and dust with a few scratched on her face likely from the branches. Otherwise unharmed Erin let out another breath and continued her count, ‘two.’

But she didn’t get a chance to speak when they heard a hallowed moan from a crater several meters overs.

‘Luxes Arse.’

She bolted over to the crater quickly understanding why Daniel had been moaning. A blast of rock, and wood wedged it’s way into his side,right leg and across his face. Tearing away at his skin and cutting deep into his flesh till blood turned his pale skin red.

“Ah-eh!” He gritted his teeth and squirmed, she could guess it likely felt like his flesh was burning. She stepped into the crater and slid off her back pack reaching for the medical kit nestled inside.

“Augtin can you make it back to the stream?” It was less a question and more of an order as the words came out of her mouth.

Augtin nodded.

“Fill my helmet and rush back.” Erin threw the helmet at him, he caught it in his hands, “Cornilla get a fire going!”

Both of them nodded and ran off to collect their materials.

Daniel squirmed underneath her. She worked faster, tore the medical kit open and removed and orange pipe from the pack and set it to the side so she could get at the bandages.

“W-wait.” Daniel tried to stop her, “Y-You guys go. Leave me here.”

“Daniel we are alone, lost in the divide and your our only arcanist, we aren’t leaving you behind.” She pulled a flask from her pocket and passed it to Daniel. Both of them knew it didn’t dull the pain. Daniel knocked it away with his one good hand and began unfastening the strap to his right gauntlet. Wincing with every movement.

“Stop moving! what are you doing?” She put down the roll of bandages she just picked up.

“T-Take it. You deserve this just as much as I did.” He continued to play with the strap till something clicked and leather binding slipped out from its metal clip.

“Your going to need that, we aren’t going to leave you here! Those artillery shots had gunpowder the D’gaian’s will be here soon!”

“More reason for you to leave me and take this.” He coughed, forcing out some phlegm before his torn up lip smirked, “leave me with the left one, I can still use that hand and defend myself. But you, take the right one. You know how to use it.”

“I’m not going to leave you behind! What about Jahmes? We’ll find a way back to the line, You’re going to be okay!” She tried to assure him. But even as Cornilla and Augtin returned and went to boil the helmet filled with water over the fire she knew it was going to be futile. They had little idea on where they were going.

Daniel grabbed her hand, It was a weak grasp, and she could feel his will growing weaker.

“Leave me the signal sigil. The blasted thing will alert anyone of my presence. If there are any Dominion troops nearby they’ll come running.”

“But what about the D’gaian’s?”

“Then no use in all of us dying. Ah-” He gritted his teeth, his cheeks going red with the strain as he reached to the holster on his right leg and pulled out the slim sliver form of a pistol.

Erin realized what he was going to do and gritted her teeth.

“Get a head start,” He continued, nudging the metal gauntlet over to Erin, “ I’ll light the sigil once your out of eye shot. That should distract the D’gaian’s.”

She took the gauntlet from him and strapped it to her shoulder. It was still stained in his blood and she had no time to clean it.

“Erin.” Daniel called, he said it with enough will that she was forced to turn to him. He squeezed her hand, “ If you see Jahmes before me. T-Tell him I love him.”

She turned her head down and nodded, picking up the orange tube of the signal sigil. “Your going to live Daniel.” She forced will into those words, as she collected her things. “We will see you again.”

She rose to her feet clicking the remaining piece of the gauntlet into place. It had been a while since she had last trained with one, and the spark that trickled down her skin as the silver rings of the glove fell into place on her arm felt more familiar to her than she thought it would. It felt right. Which was only enhanced when she made her hand into a fist and felt that first spark of will ripple down into her legs and spread down into the soil around her. She could feel her weight on the soil as if she were standing on top herself. The field of energy wasn’t just what was underneath her, she could feel the roots of grass digging into the ground as if it were her own flesh. The sensation went on for several feet reminding her that while wearing the gauntlet everything within the reach of it could be shaped by her. She lifted the ground underneath Daniel, using only an ounce of her will she raised him up on a throne of stone.

“Always had to show off.” He smiler between coughs, “You wear it like an old shoe. Should have been you weilding these.”

He was rambling now. She tucked the signal sigil into his bad hand and curled it to point it up. Feeling his muscles twitch as she did. Gods be damned she didn't want to leave him here.

“You had the discipline to wield the gauntlets, and the creativity to utilize the powers.” He added weakly.

“We can argue about this once we are safely standing on Dominion soil.” Erin wiped his dark hair to the side so he could see. It clung to his face with sweat.

Daniel nodded, “Go! Get as far away as you can. Only the gods know when when you’ll be safe again.”

Erin took her helmet from Augtin and emptied its contents on the fire. Augtin turned to her, his jaw slack, “We can’t leave him!”

“We are going to keep moving. No use in all of us dying here.” She gritted her teeth as she said that. Augtin looked at her and then turned to Daniel silently, before following Erin into the woods.

#in the black #wip #writing #warning: violence #warning: blood #azzyfree writing #urban fantasy #fantasy noir #work in progress #itb #flashback

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stationhousesix · 6 years

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Random Worldbuilding ideas

It would be really cool if I designed the Dominion military uniforms to be something crazy like early world war 1 armor like this stuff:

But then all I can think is that the Dominion is supposed to be a group of people who recently discovered the laws of magic and are just applying it like crazy to everything with no idea if any of the stuff actually works well against bullets. Considering that the D’gaians and Snehovians are the only ones with the rifle when the war started.

Get ready for some random world building blabber as I wrestle with ideas.

Lets talk about the dominion at the start of the war and how they walked into a war with the poorest equipment possible when going up against the superpowers of the world. At the start of the war the only thing the dominion had going for them was the armor they dressed their soldiers in. Helmets and gorgets were provided for all their soldiers. But full suits of armor were only things the wealthy could afford.

These were pretty good at keeping people alive. Which kept the Dominion in the game for the first year. But they didn’t do anything but failed, and failed a lot that first year. See the Dominion was rocking a magic musket and swords for about 100 years previous. Not that great a weapon and could be survived by wearing a suit of armor.

It wasn’t till about a year into the war that the Dominion started producing an actual gun. Still powered by arcanatom, expensive to produce due to the silver and gold required to make arcanatom weapons. It only had one advantage over the D’gaian rifle in that it didn’t have any moving parts so it was nearly impossible to jam. The gun suffered in extreme cold and wet as the launching mechanism only functioned when there was enough heat, and dry enough weather to create the spark required to launch a bullet. Which on the boarder of Alta and Snehovian made it frustrating to use.

Dominion soldiers would take any D’gaian weapons they came across, bullets, and what not because they were just better for much of the war.

So what does this have to armor? Because that means there was a lot of experimenting with armor through the war. Armor and magic that could have lead to nearly iron man style suits in some cases. Still expensive to give to soldiers they would have had to have been specially trained in them. Which was probably is how Daniel and Erin got trained in arcanatom gauntlets. Daniel eventually becoming the arcanist of Erin’s platoon. He may have had a full suit at some point. But once it became known that these suits were made in such a way that each piece was quinned to work by itself arcanist probably divided up the suits with those they trusted because it meant the common soldier could do more than a regular person. In a war where dominion humans were considered the weakest players, it gave them an advantage. Suddenly anybody could warp aspects of reality to their will. Where hotogami could only warp the earth, and Drakori could only warp heat. A human with some arcanatom armor found themselves being able to warp earth and fire at once, or air and water, or even the trees to their will. The D’gaian’s and Snehovians never knew what or who they were dealing with.

#worldbuilding #armor #dominion #war #first world war #magic #weapons #fantasy #rifle #wip #ideas #azzyfree writing #writing

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stationhousesix · 6 years

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History of Magic and Technology in the world

There was a connection with the names of gods. It was a sort of language that functioned both vocally and written in a visual style that indicated tenses and actions through the placement of the names of gods and spirits in consecutive rings. A language that had been first explained to Ravians through the prophet Albayo Ceilodius.

During his reign, the world was filled with magical artifacts quinned by the ravian enchanters who had been taught this secret language. Many of their artifacts still exist, buried with age after the fall of the empire.

The language was thought to be forgotten till Archibald Magnus the IV rediscover the patterns of the language and translated the archaic glyphs known as Lumani sketch, on a simple teapot which never served cold tea. He figured out which parts of the sketch were names, nouns and which described the action the pot was to serve. Finding that the pot called on a lesser spirit of warmth to keep its contents heated. A word the drakori used almost daily to warm water for tea and coffee. So Archibald understood the meaning and understood how to apply the sketch on other objects. Or how to write the name of a different spirit like one for cold, or air and and get the effect of the pot to act differently.

This simple summon allowed Dominities to challenge the other peoples of the world who always looked down on humans for the inferiority of their will, and the little control over the shape of the world they had. Humans created burning bolts that broke apart on impact into smaller metal shards and eventually this gave way to the first bullets.

Archibalds discoveries were only the beginning. The Dominion was ripe with Lumani sketches particularly the city of Lae Lumas which up until that point had been a small port since it was conquered by humans in the beginning of the 4th Era.

With the rush of scholars heading into its tunnels to learn the secrets of Lumani sketch the city grew into a thriving metropolis.

A thousand Lumani sketchs hid underneath the city of Lae Lumas. The problem was that the Lumani never wrote whole phrases they just wrote down names; nouns. Although they figured out how to read them and what they sounded like. Figuring out what they meant was another issue entirely when the context was often vague and unlike any normal language.

On the other side of the world the people of Jam D'gai were doing nearly the same but with technology. They created gunpowder by using an old medical recipe for something called black spark. Once said to prolong life It was rather common knowledge that this powder was explosive and it was usually packaged in small metal vials because of that. It didn't take long till the invention of a sort of flint and steel device to launch them came about. Shortly to follow behind was a rifle design that used a hammer on the barrel to create the heat of friction to launch the bullet. But by the time of the Great War they had already created the more modern cartridge bullets and were the leading forefront of military technology.

The Dominion mastered magical technologies that helped aid in everyday life. But till the invention of the Arcanatom Gauntlet they were never considered a worldly power. The great war changed a lot of things.

#worldbuilding #in the black #azzyfree writing #magic #technology #guns #enchantment

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stationhousesix · 6 years

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Been working on describing magic in the world. So I can make it more interesting that blast-fireball. I like some parts of this but I feel like I'm getting closer. Started this a while ago bases on a prompt from writing excuses.

She could feel everything. Not like in the way one held a rock and felt the cool rough surface against one's skin, but rather as if her whole body engulfed the room. The floor felt like her tongue; The weight of the chairs, a table, her own feet and the countless books that littered the floor as if they were candies she sprinkled on it. The air felt thicker then it had, like a breath held inside her waiting for her to exhale. The lamps heat danced with the air in the room, till the heat ran cold. The walls like arms wrapped around herself shielding her from forces just outside her will.

Her movements felt slower, yet she knew nothing had changed, she was simply just perceiving more aspects of the world thanks to the gauntlet. It let her will merge with that of the floor, the air, the tables, chairs and books. Feeling the desires of these objects as if they were a part of her. If she let her focus relax her perception would wanin and the heavy fog that marked the edge of her field of will would shrink back to a barely noticeable sensation against her skin. But if instead she said the name of anything she would have power over it.

She changed her hand gesture, her pinky and thumb coming together. On her gauntlet she could feel her will forced down the silver and gold paths falling into the sigil of air. With it her perceptions altered, the sensation of sprinkles on her tongue that the floor gave her faded away, replaced with a heaviness in her lungs reminding her to breath. She forced air in, and then out, aware of every breath that passed her lips. She would have to get comfortable with the sensation of having to control her own breathing. One forgotten breath and she would break concentration with the air.

Opening her eyes she could see the air more clearly. But she knew she wasn't seeing it so much as being it. Feeling the warm light passing through it, passing through her filling her with a weightless awe. The feeling of swaying, a dance of air as the morecules of aerogen bounced around the room, colliding with the lamps, and walls. At any moment she could reach out and pick a spot the selection would cause a wave of electric blue energy to ripple out for the spot. Then she could move it. It was as if the spot of air was a point on a blanket and she could take the spot and pull and push at it, and like making waves on a pond the air in the rest of her field of will followed the action.

She needed to focus instead of playing with the reality of air, so she shifted her will to the area just in front of her. Blocking her senses to the rest of the air in the room. The cloud of gas in front of her became hazy with ripples as she focused on it. Feeling the dust dance with every atom of air. Every speck feeling like a foreign object within her own body. She suppressed the desire to cough and let her will collect in the space between the wooden paneling and the secret chamber. Condensing into the cracks of the paneling. Building up. Till breaking with a satisfying pop. The panel flew off the wall, trailing a layer of white drywall dust behind it.

“A little crude. But I see Cielo gifted you with some power.” Saif approved, which was the most positive thing Erin had heard from him all day.

#wip #in the black #azzyfree writing #prompt #magic

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stationhousesix · 6 years

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random worldbuilding

Drakori know a thousand names for fire, heat and cold. That is how they conquered the north.

#random worldbuilding #azzyfree writing #drakori

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stationhousesix · 6 years

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A religion that has existed far longer than anyone can remember. The name has never really been set in stone and has changed throughout the centuries but the ideals and symbols have stayed relatively the same.

Saint Ingo the connector is generally agreed to be one of the originators of this religion. After going on a pilgrimage to the far corners of the world and composing a book on the names of the all the gods he was said to have spoken with many of them before they took their slumber. Although a form of this belief system existed before his pilgrimage it wasn’t till after that most of these scattered beliefs became one fleshed out religion.

“He was a simple man who found me lost and alone. He asked a simple question, “who are you?”, and I realized then I had no answer.

“Are you a mother?”

“No” “Then you know who you are not, and so you shall learn who you are.””

~ Saint Requence recounting the first time he met Saint Ingo.

“Who are you?”

This question is the foundation of belief for those who follow the Omnitence star. It is a question that is aimed at self reflection. There is no right answer and the answer is always changing. When asked that himself, Saint Ingo is known to have said many different things throughout his life: son, carpenter, husband, widower, jester, wander, student, teacher, father, pilgrim. Even his name is said to have changed at least three times, Ingo was the name he went by at the end of his life and so he is referred to by it in all the texts.

One of the easiest ways to explain Saint Ingo’s question is to take the word tree. When the word tree is spoken what is the first thing that comes to mind? Is it the color of the leaves? The scent of pine? The texture of bark on your finger tips? Or the shape if a tree that is commonly grown in your area? Like the tree a person isn’t just their actions, their beliefs, their looks or their ancestry but a combination of all things. Unlike the gods-mortals do not know who they are, and must eventually come to understand that they are who they are.

The beginning

In the beginning there was one, one became two, two became four, four became eight and eight became the world.

The world was created in the image of the gods, most people can never agree on which god came first but after one was created more followed in its footsteps. Traditionally those of the Omnitence star believe the beginning went something like this:

First came Kalclok sten and unchanging, he thought and the formless thought became Nux but once that thought settled it became Lumas, the revelation. Drekorin was the idea heat, dedication in an unchanging universe. But to recognize the unchanging universe was to bring Wessera-change- into existence. One cannot un-change something and so in trying to return the universe to its previous state Ceilo was born- preservation, protection but what good could his shield hold against Wessera, the very force that universe was doomed to flow with now. With change brought Engae-life- into the world. Engae must be thanked for the peoples lives. Engae helped create the peoples to tend the ancient world. The peoples asked for aid from Kalclok for fertile soil. Prayed to Wessera to water their crops, asked Nux and Lumas to guard the fields day and night, and Drekorin to keep the grounds warm. Ceilo brought them seeds from across the world. But when a human sat down to eat at the people's table it told a story about the end to the paradise the people had lived in for so long.

With creation there must also be an end and so The Stranger got its name, and humans were cursed with creating the first blight. The Original Sin.

The end- the afterlife

Those who follow the omnitence star believe that when they die they might be blessed by a god and become part of the gods domain in the afterlife. Often times this ascension is referred to as the Seven heavens while the failure to ascend is referred to as being damned to the eight hells. There is a belief that if you have done no wrong but also have inspired no gods you might end up stuck in the world as a spector till one of the gods notices you.

Teachings of Saint Ingo

“Let not your forebearers sin’s be yours to burden as well.”

~ Volume 3 of the pilgrimage

Omnitence star is normally practiced by humans living in the Dominion due to the fact many of the humans of the dominion ended up there, banished from their homelands on the old continent during the great diaspora of the 4th era. Saint Ingo was one such human banished from his home in Jam d’gai after the death of his wife. He started to wander the world growing a family by helping other humans who had also lost their homes. His teachings are about self reflection, acceptance and forgiveness preached at a time when humanity needed it the most.

In the Omnitence star each god isn’t just an element but also represents and aspect of humanity.

Kolcok being patience, Nux being wisdom and Lumas being knowledge, Drekorin being passion, Wessera being change, Ceilo being preservation and Engae creativity. These are aspects followers of the star try to balance in their lives along with the compassion that Saint Ingo displayed in his pilgrimage. To uphold any of these ideals is to work your way into one of the seven heavens.

Practice

Nowadays those who worship under the omnitence star often attend temple where statues or symbols to the seven divines are often located. Some temples have places to worship lesser gods or those that are said to rule over smaller areas of the world.

Every day of the week is usually given to worship of a god. There is a special mass held in the temple for the community to come when they so desire. But often people will go to the nearest temple when they can and say a solitary prayer to the god of their choosing. Most people only attend a mass once a week and so they can attend for whichever god they choose. Having symbols of the interlocking star is of grave importance to worshipers and often these stars can be seen hanging on walls in offices, homes, or on public buildings. The star is said to grant luck as it acknowledges all aspects of the world are connected.

#religion #worldbuilding #in the black #lore #omnitence star #itb #azzyfree writing #azzyfree writes #this took longer to write out then I thought it would #coming soon: The passions of Phyrus

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stationhousesix · 6 years

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WIP- In the black

Possibly a chapter for In the Black. Huh. Seems nearly fitting to post this today. A lot of research went into it and I’m still not quite happy with it.

“We should put out the fires.” Augtin urged through the laughter of his squad mates; the sky grew darker. “The D’gaian’s are down hill.” “And? We took the mound. Relax, they aren’t going to attack after that massacre.” Avis smiled as she took a bottle of whiskey from her lapel pocket. The label slick with blood. She unscrewed the top and took a drink before offering the bottle to Augtin. “We are so exposed!” Augtin pleaded as he took the bottle from Avis and took a deep drink before looking to the five faces that were lit up around the flames. Noe held a photograph in has hands, a picture of lithe human woman holding a new born. The child having the stub of antlers and a mess of golden hair to match his father. Too distracted to think on Augtin’s plea. Nikoil sat next to him sharping his dominion issued dagger with a worn wetstone. He only stopped for a moment to think on Augtin’s words. Avi’s sat on the other side of the fire going through a tawny leather bag stained in blood, she pulled out a metal tin and became giddy upon opening it and pulled out a pair of H’atian cigars. She passed one to Sargent Benjin who didn’t seem to mind stealing from the dead. He lit the cigar and took a puff from it. Augtin’s gaze fell on Erin. Her expression soft as she listened intently to him. Once she realized his gaze was on her however she tried to look away; yet there was no where to look at.

“Come on Erin, Don’t you think this is a bad idea?” Erin had known he would drag her in for support sooner or later. Normally she would have agreed with Augtin, but after two weeks of pushing through no man’s land they had finally found a place to catch a breath. She was intent on taking that breath. “Pass the whiskey.” She said taking the bottle from Augtin rather than waiting. “You too!” His voice broke. Sargent Benjin let out a chuckle. He sat on the other side of the fire, laying on his side with his head on a D’gaian backpack. He was taking another puff of the cigar. “Relax Private Fisher. Copper and Lapointe are on first watch. They got the best eyes of the section.” He let out a long breath of smoke before continuing, “If you want you can go join them.” “It’s getting dark, and I don’t know about you but I can’t see well down the valley at night.” “Normally I’d agree with you, but I think we earned some relaxation.” Noe piped in taking the whiskey from Erin, “Besides it’s not like the D’gaian’s can see any better than we can.” “Are you sure? Have you ever asked a hotagami? Bullets barely pierce their shell. What if the reason they build tunnels is because they can see in the dark?” Augtin voice rose as he spoke. After his last breath He pulled his coat around him tighter and then looked to Benjin, “You sure we found all the tunnels? Those insects are crafty.” Benjin rolled over onto his back and let out a sigh, “Erin and Nikoil say they sealed them all. Then they are all sealed.” It was Devin's turn to laugh as he came walking across the rampart and then dropped into the trench besides Erin and Augtin causing Augtin to leap up from his seat, and swear under his breath. “Erin’s your big bad sister so of course you would believe anything she tells you.” Devin teased as he got comfy between them holding a pack of cigarettes. Their label an oak tree on a white box with the text ‘Oaken Cigarettes’ was nearly black with blood, and wrinkled with creases from being in a pocket for far too long. “Any reason you doubt her?” Benjin said softly. Devin fiddled with the box, his hands shaking from the cold. He whittled out a cigarette and lit it on the scotching fire pit then took a drag. Perhaps it was the silence that got him to look up and realize all the faces were looking to him. “Naw. Erin’s got a good eye. Nikoil on the other hands a piece of shit.” “Hey!” Nikoil shouted, tearing his eyes away from the knife he was sharpening.

Noe erupted into laughter. Erin took back the whiskey and nodded her head to Nikoil, “He’s got a point. I’ll take another look around in a minute.”

“Hey!” Nikoil’s brown eyes turned to Erin, his voice dropping in pitch.

“You know I mean well.” Devin answered in her stead.

“Where’s Cornelia?” Avis asked, breaking up the conversation.

“Asleep, She and I are taking second watch.” Devin replied resting his arm’s on the rim of the trench, “I should be sleeping, but you know.” He let out a deep breath, “It’s a nice night.”

“And what you only sleep on bad nights?” Erin asked as she removed his arm from behind her and pulled her own coat tighter around herself.

The wind had died down from earlier that morning and now the only thing that stirred in the dark was the crackling of the fire pit and the meandering of thick fluffy clouds over the star lit sky, plunging the surround fields into darkness. In the distance small patches of orange light could be seen. Fire pits on both sides of the war. It was a calm night after days of artillery fire and being on edge. Erin had watched bullets fly through trees and yelled enough through the explosions of artillery shells, this moment of silence was a blessing. It was comforting to be warm and dry and surrounded by friendly faces. She couldn't help but feel a pang of sorrow for the faces that weren't here. The ones who had fallen on the journey up the mound. She looked from one mud covered face to another, exhaustion collecting in the bags under their eyes and the content but distant expressions on their faces as they stared at the flames. She had always silently hopped to herself that they may have met under better circumstances perhaps then she would have been able to taste one of George’s apple pies before he too had stepped into the other side.

Devin handed her the box of cigarettes in exchange for the bottle of whiskey. She took a cigarette and lit it on the campfire. The heat from the cigarette barely noticeable against her cold finger tips. She took a puff from it, holding the smoke in her lungs a moment longer before letting it rasp against her throat as she exhaled. She felt freer after that. Like a weight that had kept her heart in her throat all day had been let free. Devin seemed to sense the tension in the air and tried to make light of the situation. He held the whiskey up and smiled, “How about a toast to keep our spirits high?” Then nudged Augtin in the ribs with his elbow.

“To what?” Augtin shrugged it off and looked into the fire.

“To shooting hott's!” Devin laughed.

“To living free!” Noe added, before kissing the photograph he held and tucking it away in his vest pocket.

“To Finding our way home!” Nikoil staked his knife into the ground, and slid off his helmet revealing a wad of messy mud streaked blond hair.

Sargent Benjin rolled over and stood up holding his cigar over the fire and tapping it to shake off the ashes. He wasn’t a child any more. Long since the war had turned his soft baby face hard, and the twinkle of mischief in his eye to that of determination. Erin often wondered what her parent’s would think of him if they had known he had followed her into the war. “To Private Lee, George and all those who aren't here with us today. May they share our victories and may we see them in days that never come.” Benjin stood tall over the group, delivering his speech like a eulogy. Devin tossed the whiskey at him and Benjin caught it in one hand before he took a long deep drink. Avis, Noe and Nikoil began clapping, and Devin let out a chain of whooping sounds to add to the noise. The bottle of whiskey passed between them and each took a drink before adding to the noise. “To a free humanity.” Avis cheered as she took the whiskey before passing it to Augtin who cradled the bottle reluctantly. “Fine… To a… To a restful night.” Augtin spoke sheepishly, his blue eyes looking into the bottle as if it held all the secrets. Devin patted him on his shoulder urged him, “Say it and make it so!” Augtin took a long sip of the whiskey as if that would give him the courage to demand it. “To a restful night!” Augtin said louder and with more force. His will reverberating with the words. Avis cheered him on, and his face softened at that. He passed the bottle to Erin who had been quiet to this point with little idea on what to possibly toast to. The clapping had turned into stomping on the ground and slapping hands against their thighs. Their will giving the bonfire an energy that had been missing from the marches, a life that had been sapped from the karzian country side since the war started. It was refreshing, a glimmer of hope in the darkest of nights. Would this be how the world would feel once the fighting stopped? Erin hoped it would, and so she added her will to the bonfire, standing up next to her brother, “To a swift end to the war!” She shouted pouring all her will into those words, and downing a big gulp of whiskey. It burned her throat on the way down. Benjin patted his sister on the back and grinned, “I hate this name but you all agreed to it, so to the Shroud!”

Noe got up and pulled his helmet off, the stubs of his antlers poked through still covered in netting to look like branches, “To the Shroud! May we always walk in the shadow of our enemies!”

Avis stood up, “To the shroud, may our enemies always be blind to our advance!”

Nikoil threw a fist into the air, “To the Shroud! May our aim be true!”

“To the Shroud! If our end ever comes may it be swift!” Augtin frowned.

“To the Shroud! Let even the gods of earth and fire fear us!” Devin cheered.

Erin poured what was left of the whiskey into the fire, which erupted into beacon of light crackling with a ferocity she hadn’t been expecting. She pulled back away from the flame. Augtin yelped in fear, but Avis and Devin kept laughing. It took a moment for everyone to relax around the campfire again. Augtin turned his yelp into a laugh, at once feeling at ease. Erin felt like a child again, laughing and screaming in the school yard with out a care in the world. She was close to these people, closer than she had been with kids in school. She wanted the bonfire to last forever to feel this at ease with a group of people like she hadn’t for years. But she knew when they woke in the morning they would still be here on the battle field in the middle of a war that was bigger than all of them. So she would savor Augtin’s laugh, and Avi’s smile, and the serene look Noe had as he spoke of his family back home in Lae Lumas. Devin’s teasing, and her brother’s happiness. At least before the truth would come out that she had never told her parent’s that he had signed up for the war too.

“GAurh!-” Devin cried as he fell back into the trench clutching his shoulder. The laughter died and five faces turned slowly to Devin’s slumped and weeping form. “We’re under attack!” Benjin cried out leaping to grab his rifle from the wall. A ring of another bullet flying just over head. “Erin, Noe shield us!” He ordered. Noe’s voice came out in odd notes, that sounded like the wind and rain yet his will seeped into every sound commanding the patches of grass to grow together into a net and continue to grow slowly forming a barricade around the trench. A spriggan magic, Erin might never be able to fathom. Erin barely had a moment to tie her arcanatom gauntlet on, fumbling she hugged the wall of the trench as Benjin pulled up next to her and started firing blindly into the night. Behind them Avis and Nikoil picked up D’gaian rifles and took up position on the wall but their firing did nothing. The bullets whizzed through the darkness, and the enemy fired back. Augtin put out the fire with a bucket of water plunging them into darkness. The enemies fire becoming more chaotic. “Erin we could really use a wall!” Benjin stated as his rifle fired quick concussive shots into the darkness. “I’m trying!” The clasp was stuck and the gauntlet refused to pull tight enough for the silver in the gauntlet to touch her skin. Her will barely reacting to the gauntlets presences. A patch of fire erupted nearly ten feet away from them, flushing in enough light for Erin to see where the clasp was stuck and pulled it free. Looking up briefly she could see feet rushing at them from the surrounding tree line on the other side of the mound. “Erin!” Benjin pleaded. She leaped up from the wall of the trench and forced all her will into the gauntlet, feeling her sense of the world expand around her as it did; Suddenly she was aware of the wills of her squad mates, Devin was still sparking brightly against her’s; he would live. Down the mound she could feel the wills of D’gaian soldiers, at least forty of them rushing up the mound. Doing what she could she made her hand into a fist and focused on the ground in front of them. They needed a wall and so the universe would make it so. She lifted her hands, feeling the will of the soil and rock grind against her’s as it desired only one thing, to stay where it was. Her will was her communication with the rock and soil, it demanded the rock rise and it did. Lifting up from the ground as if the rock had been carved into a slab of stone five feet thick and maybe twenty feet high. Just as the wall came up she felt something pass over her, “Get down!-” She tried to cry out but it was too late for her to catch the thing. She turned to see the object drop next to her brother, clatter and burst into a flaming bolt of light. Erin didn’t get a chance to fight it, she just felt the white hot searing pain wreck its way across her flesh and sent her flying back into the stone wall before her mind went black.

#In The Black #azzyfree writing #itb #war #blood #death #violence #the great war #wip #writing #writeblr

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stationhousesix · 6 years

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Saw a bunch of other writeblrs getting on @cogwrites writers bingo idea. So I decided to make one for In the black. If a prompt interests you, you can always send me an ask and I’d love to talk about them!

#writeblr #itb #bingo #writer #azzyfree writing

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stationhousesix · 6 years

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So gentle in his arms,

A chill upon her breath

He promised her protection for a kiss,

Just the kiss of death.

#azzyfree writing #poem #vampire #halloween #spooky #for a novel i'll never write.

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stationhousesix · 6 years

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Gods and Magic [Part 01]

Arcanatom is the life force of the universe. The energy that allows every living thing to change the world to their will. The problem is that to control this force you need to know the words to do it.

There are two ways to view the gods. Each a face of Arcanatom belonging to a yin and yang sort of dualism, of positive and negative aspects. Or each face a god in their own right whose power comes from the source of the universe. Which ever idea you subscribe to there is only one truth. In the beginning there were four gods each ruling over a realm of thought. It should be noted that although I refer to them as gods (or in some cases goddesses) they are actually genderless. Some of the more common beliefs in the world have gendered their gods.

“To gaze into darkness is to know pure chaos.”

~Unknown Lumani Scholar

Kalclok- the god of beginnings, stillness, unchanging, comfort,eternity and stability. Said to be in the world from the beginning. Kalclok is the face of arcanatom that never changes. The god of eternity. The world we stand on.

The stranger- the god of endings, change, death, fear, and time. Said to be the one thing everything fears. The first forgotten god.

Nux- the god of fleeting thought, unknown, obscure, hidden, night, darkness, femininity and potential. The god who is caught in an eternal chase with lumas, a fleeting idea who can never be grasped.

Lumas- the god of knowledge, discovery, day, light, revelations, factual, known, masculinity and the chase. The god who is caught in an eternal chase with Nux, the revelation that must be made.

“It is the light that chases the darkness away. Makes the unknown, known. The light that reveals the truth but removes all potential.”

~ Capherial (Ahoolial Priest)

Some believe Nux and Kalclok to be the same being, or Lumas and the stranger. The pairing of unknown and stillness, of obscured and unchanging, or of discovery and change, of knowledge and time. Because of this often times their realms may seem to stretch into the idea of the other, and their names may seem to affect each others realms.

“Here runs the sands of time. Yet sand doesn’t run, it is pushed. So shouldn’t it be called the winds of time?”

~ Pisirus Mar (Ravian Comedian)

This is especially important when discussing the creation of the other gods. As some believe it is where the realms of the four gods meet that new gods are born. Their names are sealed into the universe just waiting to be learned by mortals.

Some god’s names have yet to be found while others have been found but have been forgotten for various reasons. Some gods were forgotten because they were considered too dangerous to know. Others were forgotten because other gods wanted them removed from the world. Some were forgotten because they were simply considered unimportant by the people.

For the most part however in the image above the gods labeled as ‘forgotten names’ were forgotten with good reason. These forgotten names are considered the Blights of the universe. Powers too terrible to play with, gods too corrupt to allow to run free. Because of this many societies have erased their names and destroyed their temples in trying to save the world from them.

“There is one thing gods, animals and men all fear and it is Time.”

~ Unknown Lumani Scholar

But these gods cannot be erased and because of that they sit and wait for someone to call them again so that they might be returned to the world.

[Part 01] [Part 02]

#writing #in the black #gods #magic #worldbuilding #azzyfree writing #itb

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azzyfree · 6 years

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The Conclusion Speaks to Man

Short story for In the black.

In the beginning there was only myself; but then I thought. They were clouded, obscured, creeping cogs within my mind whom I called Nux- and the lady of thought was born into the universe. But where her realm of my mind was dark and shrouded and filled with possibility, Lumas lit it up and brought order to the chaos of shrouded thought and with it he brought revelations.

For a time Lumas, Nux and I were all who ever existed. But Lumas only ever looked at Nux, and Nux was an idea who could never be held. A thought that could never be spoken and once Lumas shone with revelation, I understood the realm we existed in would never be the same.

Drekorin was created then all passion, dedication, heat and power he is force and his driving force gave form to Wessera and with her flowed change.

For Lumas the dedication corrupted him, the challenge from chasing darkness brought forth a blight on the universe- wrath. The challenge of chasing shadows made him angry, and Nux knew this but she could never change what she was, so she toyed with Lumas, edging him onward and feeding wrath.

It was here, watching Light chase Shadows that I notice the other staring back at me. Had he always been there as well? And I had never noticed it? I will never know. Because kalclock never spoke to me but in our held gaze, fear was born. The second blight on the universe. It grew in the darkness of Nux, creeping at the edges where her and Lumas touched. Just out of each others reach.

Once Nux and Lumas noticed kalclock however the world was born. Wessera was change and Drekorin force, and together warped kalclock into the world. Wessera bringing water and Drekorin fire, and after a time they forged its landscape.

Lumas and Nux quickly realized what was going on, and Nux used the world as a divide to preserve herself. And with that idea came Ceilo, protection and preservation. His shield reached far over the world and created the sky, and only made Lumas jealous of the ally Nux had unknowingly acquired.

There came the third blight somewhere in his blindness. The green spirit that had choked him into continuing this chase. A terrible pride that could only be sated by a conclusion to a never ending conquest.

Drekorin, Wessera, Cielo and I, had the same thought as we watched this chase consume Nux and Lumas’ existence. Our thought gave birth to Engae and life grew and spread over the world. Your ancestors were apart of that world too. We cherished all the things that Engae made. Even I who had been so startled by the changes in my universe.

We all became possessive over these creatures and that was our mistake. The fourth blight was born. The desire to horde, and keep. The disease that exists in all things and we just wrap it around what we consider ours. The white serpent.

It doesn’t take much of an imagination to figure out what happened next, for Wrath, Fear, Envy, and Greed to exist we went to war. With war, came betrayal and isolation, the lord of lies and the divider, the fifth and sixth blights in the universe.

It was here in the first war of the gods that I met your ancestors. Curious little creatures you are. Maybe that’s what I admire about you. For we gods and blights may have existed far before you, but it is you who first spoke our names- First spoke my name. That is when I knew I could never let any of them have you.

That is also when I knew what I was. For I watched the concepts of the universe be born into it. There was change but no conclusion. Which made me rethink what I had seen of the universe. The only god I hadn’t seen born was Kalclock. If I had not been the first into the universe, if I had not been it’s start then it only meant one thing.

I must have been the end.

You know how the story goes from here. The other gods began to understand this as well. Fearful to lose the world they had created to me, they sealed the blights away thinking that would stop me.

I watched them teach their names to you. Every one of them. I watched you turn from humans into the groups you call yourselves now. Drakori, Siren, Spriggan, Hotogami, Ravian, silly names. I love that about you too.

I watched them divide the world and forge the pacts which bind me now. I watched their fear grow, and grow till they sealed Wessera away as well. But once we were created we can never be undone. For without change, and conclusion there is only eternity. And eternity wants it’s universe back.

#writing exercise #azzyfree writing #short story #in the black #itb

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