#but they can never truly escape from themselves and their bloody legacy

[maegalkarven]

My favorite aspect of "nature vs nurture" with Dark Urge is what it's both why Durge was Like That.

It was both nature (a pureblood bhaalspawn) and nurture (Sceleritas and Bhaal's teachings).

Durge was born into their role of prodigal murderer AND nurtured into it.

Which makes the defying Bhaal so much interesting because at the beginning of the game it's a battle against nature (dark urge) but the lack of previous teachings. So Durge is a clean slate trying to battle their very own origin.

And after the temple, after Durge defying Bhaal and being resurrected, it...reverses.

Because there is no dark urge in them anymore, no Bhaal's unholy blood.

BUT there's nurture. The glimpses of the memories of the person they once were, the eerie familiarity of it, body and mind acting without thought and slipping into old habits. Most of Durge's memories are lost, but they have recovered enough for their raising and past habits to affect them now. And so it's a battle against nurture now, to be different than you used to be, was raised to be.

[datastate]

man... all hornet would have to deal with after the stasis is done with, after hallownest’s fully dead, really hurts me. there’s no good way to recover from that constant state of fight or flight for years on end - however much the stasis stopped time, it doesn’t change all she pulled herself through on her own.

it’s a disservice to say that she didn’t purposefully take up the mantle of her parents as “hallownest’s protector” because that makes her feel like some character tossed to the whims of fate, rather than someone who stepped up and chose to never become as her father, the king, or the white lady. there is a reason why she is hallownest’s last protector despite the queen still being alive. those two gods may have been hallownest’s leaders, but they fled the moment the idea of their perfect kingdom came crumbling around them. yes, hornet was pressured into taking on their fallen mantle (and her mother’s, for that was the role she was meant to be born into in return for herrah’s life), but she ultimately chose again and again to proceed with this, no matter the pain endured on her own part. she is stronger than the leaders of hallownest, but suffers all the more for that.

soon after the infection resurrected and she made her decision, there must’ve been some irony in the fact she was inherently part of hallownest (the land as a whole; not the kingdom itself) being half mortal and half god, and soon thereafter became proof the land of the gods was inevitably heading toward death because it was built upon the backs of mortals, whose lives were unnaturally prolonged by the wrath of another god. hallownest was torn between these truths, between meeting its mortal end and becoming everlasting as it was intended and proudly announced to be by the time the wyrm claimed his stake. hallownest was the land of gods, but the majority were too arrogant, they would pretend their own desires and state as a higher god was enough to twist these other’s lives for their own purposes in some grand scheme or an attack upon another god. how many of these higher beings truly saw their people as... people, instead of means to an end? be it legacy, revenge, the individuals themselves were tossed around with no regard to their fragile lives because they were but a speck in the lives of these beings who thought themselves and their ideas of what must be worth more.

hornet does take up a responsibility to that extent, casting judgement upon her own siblings who will try to end the stasis and recontain infection, but never once can she disconnect herself as easily as so many of the higher gods once did. she is of them, of the lucky few who didn’t fall. she is hallownest’s last chance, the last to keep it from completely collapsing as radiance’s corruption proceeds to carve a bloody path. even if it’s painful to know that herrah’s sacrifice was rendered useless, despite everything that is evident she tried to give hornet, hornet ultimately comes to the conclusion that it is better to let the lands themselves die than hand it over to a god that is running on her own power, who will die out again and cause something even more catastrophic for the people remaining. and so, hornet takes up this responsibility of killing the few survivors of her siblings who escaped the king’s first damnation. it’s a bit of a mercy, she’d like to think, that they should swiftly die by her hand than suffer the infection (signs of which she witnessed first hand, having been part of deepnest who severely suffered in its revitalization) or truly damn these lands beyond reparation by failing to entrap radiance once more. there is no one left to take this mantle, and she believes it her only choice even if it forces her to refuse what little empathy she once held - she can’t sit as idly as so many others do and is not so cowardly as to escape.

this was her duty, so what does she do afterward? there will be a point then where she’s recovered enough and is going to look back on that time in stasis and realize the last time she wasn’t forced into feeling desensitized or dissociating was just... around the time her mother was buried. it’s been a long time since she’s let herself find any kinship or community with any who dare visit, or with the survivors of hallownest’s fall.

within this isolation, i feel she did have ample time to herself while waiting for one of her lost siblings to return and (please) prove their worthiness, but no matter the activities to pass the time, still... those in-betweens piled upon her stressed state. she obviously learned, eventually, to take her situations as they were (she laughs during battle, understands when she’s pushing her limits, knows how to care for herself despite the danger as to never again require the services of one who may very well become infected), but that really doesn’t negate the fact that after readjusting to constantly taking in the present, she thought she could withstand even more and refrain too much indulgence that would distract her (weaving, she excuses. for what she remembers of deepest, and for setting up battle). and therein lies a fault of hers, almost reflective of her father, the idea that in order to retain her judgement and purpose would keep her from indulging in too much downtime with wanderers, let alone with her siblings (who she first refused herself much more than curiosity). hornet is the one with the final say on which direction hallownest shall fall, and puts pressure on herself to let this grand thing meet a peaceful end. if for nothing else, then her mother’s peace.

hornet had her duty for the people, as did her mother. and hornet would not become as cowardly as her father, even if she did keep that emotional distance as to make the work easier.

learning to converse with others after all of this? fitting in without the immense pressure of at least eight (8) separate societies and their scattered survivors, attempting to still feel as casual despite going years on end only ever conferring with herself on what to do and how to proceed... there will always be a disconnect between herself and whoever she is with, or happens to work alongside. of course she will eventually reform some relationships, but it will take. a good while to work through all of the barriers and other various coping mechanisms set in place, and there are some things she may not ever confide in another regarding what happened to her after hallownest and the areas beside fell. a lot of it you can gleam, but she likely has learned to just... not linger on the past, but how she will survive, for better or worse once she is finally allowed to leave behind her self-imposed duty as hallownest’s protector. she is a part of hallownest’s tragedy, just as much as the vessels and the dead were. how she fits into hallownest’s narrative does not emphasize her pain, but her promise in willingly taking on her title. however, despite this being her role, she is also allowed the opportunity to move on, albeit in a separate manner than the vessels and other dead were. the vessels were of putting an end to the cycle of pain born from abuse, allowing oneself to move on to peace. hornet is of finding yourself beyond the purpose imprinted upon you, including the introspection inherit in that. understanding the past, what has built you, and moving forward to better both yourself and your situation.

[demigoddessqueens]

So The Lion Fell In Love With the Lamb

AO3 Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30608267

Tags: slight 18+ and mentions of nudity

In his immortal years, Ares only knew of war and bearing the strife of it back on Olympus. The looks of disdain were not lost on him whenever the Greeks shed blood, but he no longer cared of their opinion. Disliked by most, mocked and ridiculed, especially by that of his volatile parentage. He knows he’s a scoundrel, a rogue, a brute. And apparently has an affinity for his brothers’ wives.

He knew he had the affections of Aphrodite herself, they damn well had children together, but she was still married to his brother. She was his brother’s wife. There was still such a weight to that that Ares could not fully fathom. He grew jealous of his brother, especially that of his half-brother Apollo.

A bastard product of Zeus and the Titaness Leto, Ares despised the way the sun god flaunted conquests in front of him, especially those he called his own. The one that caught his attention the most was that woman, the one he eloped with in Thessaly. He heard of her prowess, her battle skills, and was bitterly intrigued. A mortal, with immortality, that could hold her own against a god and beast? Time to put that to the test.

Apollo was not subtle. He knew that she roamed the old paths, between her kingdom and her old life, and caught her along the paths. Upon gazing at her for the first time, she was nothing that he expected. A pillar of strength and grace, body poised for the attack, dark eyes that hooked into his. Beauty that rivaled that of the Charities themselves.

Keen on seeing if she lives up to her reputation, he charges at her, only to have her blade parry his attack. It catches him off guard, and by surprise. So she does know her way around a sword. The battle prone god charges at her again, more effort in his stride, only to be met with further resistance. They are locked in a dance of battle for quite some time until both start to grow weary.

At their respite, he is finally able to see her. Truly see her. Underneath her warrior exterior, lies someone with a gentle heart. Filled with the love she has for her children, her family, and her life. A thirst for adventure, yet also a yearning for home. It catches him off guard, but the war god won’t be easily swayed. At least not at first. He swallowed his nerves before speaking.

“Seems as if the stories I’ve heard suit you well, mortal. What is your name?” Her eyes narrow in the slightest before answering. “I know you are not of this realm like I am, but what would compel me to reveal myself to one who attacked me?” So there was a fire to her as his half-brother had claimed. “I ask your name so that I may know what to call you the next time we come across one another.”

“What makes you think I would want to see you around here again?” The God of War was not one to normally tease his opponents, but he allowed himself this, just this once. “So I know what to call you once you defeat me.” After the first time, Ares’s visits became more and more frequent. With every spar these two had, he learned more and more about the woman he now knew as Cyrene.

The longer they met, the more he started to realize of his feelings for this mortal. As subtle as he thought himself to be, there was the unspoken tension between him and the sun god during his coming and goings. At times, he swore he could feel the burn of the intense gaze at the back of his neck. Though he had the affections of the love goddess herself, there was something different that he felt for Cyrene.

It was something that became personal. She was as gentle as she was fierce. Even the faintest brush of her skin against him felt soft. They indulged each other in their clash and sparring game, but the more he knew of her, really knowing her, there was an intimacy to it. A princess born and bred for marriage, but who’s life took the most unexpected turn. At times, he yearned to stay, to just talk more or be in her presence. But like a stubborn fool who’s heart felt torn, he retreated back to Olympus whenever he could, trying to escape what he was denying himself. Until Cyrene took the first step in confronting him.

He noticed her attacks and parries were fiercer and more aggressive than normal. It wasn’t until she had him in a lock between her blade and the cliffside of their meeting spot. “Why do you run off? I’ve noticed how you have been around me, how you have looked at me. Why do you deny it?” He pushed back, as a brute does. “DO not presume you think you can question me, mortal! You know nothing!”

She’s equally stubborn too and pushes back as well. “So, it’s mortal now? Not Cyrene, nor ‘warrior’! And I know nothing because you never let me in, nor stay around!” They remain at a standstill, tempers flared and an intense gaze held. It’s only over when Ares claims her lips since their unorthodox courtship began. It’s a flurry of hands and lips crashing against each other, his hands in her hair and grasping at her loose clothing. Her cradling his face and looking to unfastening his armor.

They make love at her home. The home she initially built with Apollo, but now welcomes another. Bodies melded into one, hands grasped at each other’s bodies, and Cyrene’s legs wrapped around his toned hips. They moved in tandem with each other, not a dance of battle but a dance of passion and lust. Her supple breasts pushing more into his body only spurred the war god on, thrusting and moaning as he pleased. They lose themselves to each other, and become swept away in the peak of their passion.

In their afterglow, he held her close to him, a gentle gesture not lost on her. “Would you want me to stay, Cyrene?” She lifted her head from his chest and kissed him again since their tryst. “I would, if you let me in.” “What about your sons’ father? My brother isn’t one to—”

Cyrene let out a sigh, one that was filled with sadness but still reminiscent of a once joyous past. “His love comes and goes as it does for a god. I do not blame him for it, nor will I ever blame you. Just…stay, if Fate allows it.”

And so he stayed and attempted to make something for himself, other than a bloody war. Something beautiful, a place he could call home other than Olympus. In due time, he had a child with her. One that would go on to become a famed king with a name for himself. Though Cyrene was nothing Ares expected her to be, he fondly looked upon what he had with her.

An expanded legacy of his own, and a woman that gracefully welcomed him. It was nothing that he ever anticipated, a brute such as himself being admired by one such as her, but one thing was for certain. He never regretted crossing her path that day because it became one of the most memorable elements of his immortal life.

[pulpwriterx]

BEN SOLO ALL THESE YEARS

Rey decided to stay on Tattoine.

The desert, after all, was her home.

Poe went back into the spice business, and even branched out to include good booze and cigarillos.

Finn joined him in yo ho, you ho,  a pirate's life for me.

And in their business?

They needed a good scavenger.

A year or  so went by.

Finn and Poe bought themselves a posh bachelor pad in Anchorhead, but Rey preferred solitude.

She knew that that both of them would have been willing to give her a shoulder to cry on, and the benefit of a man's company.

But after the way Ben died in her arms, Rey wasn’t ready to hold a man, again.

The old Skywalker farm didn’t look like it, but it was a nice place to live.

It had been Ben’s home, after all. 

He had left the outside looking run down and desolate, like no one lived there, but past the blighted door in the dusty courtayrd, it was a different story.

Typical Ben.

When you took off his mask, he had another mask on beneath that, and beneath that was a big story, a tall tale, and a pack of ever-evolving half-truths and outright lies.

He had restored the old farm, on the inside, and underneath, where the farming equipment and tanks had been, he kept a smuggler’s treasure trove.

Tunnels filled with all kinds of swag, from booze and cigarillos to old Rebel Alliance and Imperial Uniforms, and less innocent cargo like crates of blasters and pallets of coaxium.

There was also five years of food and supplies, and one of the tanks had even been converted into a vault. It was full of credits, black molded chests of Imperial gold coins, money from all over the Galaxy.

Ben had left the farm, and all it’s contents to Rey Skywalker.

He had also left the Millenium Falcon to Rey, but she hadn’t the heart to fly the ship she loved so much.

With both Ben and Han Solo dead, neither with a final resting place?

The ship was like their tomb.

The Falcon, and Ben’s secret refuge, with it’s hidden treasures; they were all, in some strange way, his legacy.

When Rey wasn’t whizzing around the stars with her friends, she led a peaceful, solitary life as the guardian of the legacy of the family that gave all for the peace that finally broke out in the Galaxy.

Besides, she wasn’t wholly alone.

Poe always let BB8 go with her, to keep tabs on her, and Threepio and Artoo were glad to finally get to go home.

It was a special place for her.

In the two years between when she and Ben killed Snoke, and when they killed the Emperor?

They used to meet at the Skywalker Farm.

Their bonds remained unbroken, even after she had rejected his offer to join him,  and they had grown closer, not just through the talks, and the laughing, and the stories, most of which were lies.

Yelling.

Pointing fingers.

Sneering.

Cursing.

Stamping feet.

Breaking things.

Throwing shit about.

Lightsaber duels.

Even the bad times, even the shit times were precious to her, now.

Rey would sit, quietly, watching the twin suns, and think about the past.

Like the time they had a horrible fight through their bond, and called each other vicious names, and threw things at each other, and smashed up their own gear, in a rage.

But then Ben had said.

“I need to see you in person, Rey.”

“Why? What can we do in person that we can’t do through our little talks?”

“We can make love. Don’t you want to? I do.”

“There is nothing like love between us, Kylo Ren!”

Ben had given her the Solo shrug.

“Then we can fuck. I'd rather fuck. I was just trying to be chivalrous.”

And somewhere in their laughter, they had agreed to meet at the Skywalker farm, on Tattoine.

Rey had no idea that Ben had a home, and it became their refuge.

Rey would lie there, in Ben's big, brass bed, and close her eyes and think about when he was there, beside her.

Those stolen days and nights where they would laugh, and fight, and screw, and cuddle under the fur blanket in the cold desert night and plan for a future they both knew would never happen.

Sometimes, she could almost feel his big body, lying there beside her, and she could smell his scent.

Hear his voice.

Feel the way her little body had moved under his big, strong hands.

Of course she would also lie there and think about their lovemaking and take care of her business.

She could have had Finn, or Poe, but Ben was like an animal, like a man in the state of nature; he had been born without shame, and he had unchained a passion in her that Rey had never known she possessed.

Not that she had been a prude, but her interest in men, and her occasional dealings with them had been, well, ordinary.

Now who the hell would she find to satisfy the unchained, shameless desire that Kylo Ren Ben Solo had awakened in her?

Rey often cried, bitter tears.

But that was life.

Love is death, life is pain, and somehow you muddle through.

***

In the second year since Ben died, Rey was walking down a busy street in Anchorhead when she saw Chewie.

They hugged, and Rey was truly happy.

She took him to Poe and Finn's and they tried to get information out of him, but Chewie would only say he was working.

As he left, he asked Rey a very honest question.

“Are you happy?”

“I am content, Chewie. I have friends, work, a place to live, enough money, and I have peace.”

“But are you happy?”

“No. Happiness died with Ben. A lot of things died for me, with Ben. Love. Hope. Any interest I had in men, poor Poe, and poor Finn. But I still have life. And I can still enjoying being content with it.”

***

A few nights later, Rey had a dream about Ben.

It was a wild, sweaty, deeply pornographic wet dream that she woke up from in the throes of the kind of an orgasm women could only have in their dreams.

Or, if they were lucky, with bad men like Ben Solo.

She sat up, throwing the blanket off.

“Rey.”

Rey's heart sang an aria.

“Ben! You found your way back? When will I be able to see you?”

But there was no reply.

Leading her to believe, alas, it had only been a beautiful dream.

***

When he had come to Oneness with the Force, Ben Solo found trouble in Paradise.

Master Yoda thought he was ready for the next step.

Master Obi Wan argued that he was too young, and had resolved none of the conflict that had brought him to ruin.

Master Anakin was more direct.

“Though a man, he is still a child. And his life has been suffering and tragedy. He is young, he has found love, and we should not cheat him of the life he has fought so hard to win. Send him back. Let him be Ben Solo, and live his life. He has many years to find the New Path.”

Ben tried to speak, to say what he wanted,  but found he could not.

“Young though he is, yes, but what life for him? Redeemed from Kylo Ren in our eyes. But what of the material world? If return he does, atone he must. But a bullseye on his back there will be!” Yoda insisted.

“That is a problem, Anakin.” Obi –Wan agreed.

“Then we will send my grandson back without healing his body. It will be broken. He will atone with his suffering.  We will send him to a distant planet to make his recovery, alone. Dependant on the charity of strangers he once oppressed.  Then let him make his way to more familiar planets, back to his identity and his home.” Anakin suggested.

“That sounds reasonable. We will give my namesake a test. But, Kylo Ren is dead. Ben Solo should not have to pay for his crimes. Then we will make it so the memory of his mask is preserved in the minds of all. But not his face. “ Obi-Wan suggested.

The others agreed.

“Speak now you may, young Skywalker. Until you find your way back, Skywalker shall you be called. Well? Back do you wish to go?” Yoda asked.

“Yes, Master Yoda. Back I wish to go.”

“Humor you have. Need it, you will.”

“But will I have to endure doctors? Needles?”

“Fear in your face, I see? Tortured you were, young Skywalker? Then your fear you must overcome.  Back you still wish to go?”

“Yes, Master Yoda. I will face my fear.”

“And Ben? No cheating? If your women, strong in the Force as they are, happen to find you? Or your family? We won’t keep them away. But if you call to them? You forfeit this chance.” Anakin told him.

“Wrong that is! In his sleep, will young Skywalker’s soul cry for help! No. Also must we use the Force to interrupt his bond. Until his test is finished. Though he will call? No answer will we allow to come.” Yoda decided.

“I agree. Only by doing the evil that Kylo Ren might have done will you forfeit your chance. Good luck, Ben.” Obi-Wan said

“I have always been with you, my grandson. If you need my strength during your trial? I will answer your call.” Anakin assured Ben

Then, Ben  fell into something like sleep.

***

He had a horrible dream, of waking up bloody and bruised on collapsing Exegol, limping or crawling out of the cave he was in, and then escaping in the still flyable remains of a crashed X-Wing

He woke up in a bacta tank, and panic seized him.

He started banging on the glass walls, screaming through the breather in his mouth.

The noise brought a Rodian in a white coat.

“Hey! Hey Dan, the big guy is awake! By the Force, he looks terrified.”

A guy his age with a moustache rushed into the room.

“Then let’s get him out. It’s OK, big fella. You’re safe. You’re in a Resistance hospital. There’s no more First Order. Nobody’s going to hurt you, here. Hurry up, Needo, help me, before he cracks the tank!”

The machine Ben was suspended from pulled him out, and he ripped all the wires off of his body, and crashed to the ground.

“No! No doctors! Get away from me!” he shouted.

Reduced to crawling away.

But there was nowhere to go.

“Its OK. There’s no torture droids here. You don’t have to get any injections. We're not going to bring you to the point of death, then put you in a bacta tank to fix you up, and then do it again.”

“You know about that?”

“The Empire did it to me the first time. I have a scar like the one on your other leg. But mine is only a few inches long. You must have really suffered.” The grey haired man said.

“I did. Where am I? Who are you? How much longer will this plexi-cast be on?”

The Rodian came with a long orange smock with the Resistance symbol on it, folded on a wheelchair.

“I’m Dan Antilles. I’m your doctor. You crash landed here, on Hoth. And you need another three weeks with that cast. Let me help you up. Now you might want to put this smock on, big fella. This is the size we usually use for Wookies.”

The Rodian helped Ben put the smock on.

It had long sleeves and it was fleecy and soft on the inside.

“I know you want crutches, but the break in your femur was bad. So, if you like being in the shape you’re in, and you want that leg to hold you up, later? Wheelchair. Nobody has to push you if you’d rather wheel yourself.”

Ben sat in the wheelchair, lifting his leg onto the platform for it.

“I can wheel myself.” He said.

“Good. I’ll show you around the place, and back to your bed.”

“Do you have a name, Big Guy?’

“Ben. Ben Skywalker.”

“Are you a Skywalker from Tattoine or a Skywalker from Arkanis?”

“Both. My grandfather was from Arkanis. His father died, and his mother became an indentured servant on Tattoine. We’re free, now, though.”

“Yeah, my family are from Corellia, but most of by father’s war buddies were from the Outer Rim. Tattoine, mostly. OK, Ben. It’s good to have you back. You scared us a little; we thought you might leave.”

“Me too.”

 ***

Snow.

Watching it snow.

Lying propped up on pillows, leaning against the wall, last cot on the ward.

A cot with a big “W” on it.

For Wookiee.

Techanically, Ben was a Wookiee, when Chewie became his godfather, he was adopted into Chewie’s clan.

Ben was thinking about Kashyyyk, actually, while watching it snow.

Thinking about how he might still be welcome, with Uncle Chewie.

Trying to get his spoon under the cast, to scratch his leg.

Watching it snow.

Blanket up to his chin, one knee up.

“...so, what happened was, there was like, a reason why Ben Solo killed Kylo Ren. More than just, you know, the war. Ben Solo and Kylo Ren, they were at the Jedi Temple together. They were friends. But they had a lightsaber fight over either the Force or a girl. I hear different things. And that's’ why Kylo Ren wore the mask because Ben Solo cut his nose off and scarred up his face...”

“Zak, can you stop talking about men? Why do you think I have my blanket pulled up?”

“You thinking about your nurse?”

“Can you stop talking to me? Forget it.”

“Sorry, Ben.”

“It’s not your fault, Zak. It’s this place.”

He looked out the window again.

Snow.

Snow.

Snow.

“I think about your nurse, too. She’s a big girl. She has to be six feet tall. And, like 200. But it’s in all the right places. And she’s a Twi’lek.” Zak said

“I’d like to jump into that girl and drown. Why isn’t she your nurse?” Ben asked

Zak shrugged.

Ben heaved himself off his cot and into his wheelchair.

“Well, I think I’ll go try to take a piss without pissing all over myself.”

“Good luck, man.”

***

The days bled into each other.

Ben finally looked inside the chest, under his bed, on the ward.

In the chest was his lost lightsaber, the blaster Uncle Lando had given him, his blaster belt, his lucky Sabacc dice, a couple of pair of coveralls, his boots, an X-Wing helmet, a money belt for under your clothes that had 500 credits in it, and a mess kit.

The X-Wing helmet had a number on it.

His Uncle’s.

“Humor you have. Need it, you will.” Ben muttered.

The plexi cast on his left leg came all the way up to his balls, and his leg always itched like it was on fire.

Meanwhile, no one asked him if he was related to  the Jedi Master Luke Skywalker.

When two weeks, and then two more passed and no celebrated persons came to claim him, people assumed that he was some distant relation.

They didn’t release him until after the cast came off, in another week.

Nobody had come for him, and he didn’t call for anyone, so he just left on his own, on a transport with hundreds of other displaced men and women with nowhere special to go.

***

The tiniest hint of a fly in the Force Ghosts’ ointment came around the time that Ben was leaving the Resistance Hospital.

General Leia-Organa Solo, also Senator Leia Organa-Solo, returned to her office on Coruscant as Senate staffers were packing up her things.

One boy almost dropped a picture of her, and Han, and Ben, and Leia caught it.

“Don’t look so frightened. I’m not a ghost.”

“But you’re dead, Senator?”

“I’m a Skywalker. We don’t just die, like other people. We have many deaths and many births, and live many lives inbetween? Less philosophically? I have too much to do to die just now. Maybe in another forty years, or so.”

The next day, after her first appearance in the Second Republic Senate, to announce that she was running for Prime Minister, Leia had an unscheduled visit in her office from Wedge Antilles.

“This had better be really important, Wedge.”

“I think it is. I don’t want to get your hopes up, but I was talking to my son, last night. He saw your broadcast and it made him think of a patient of his. A man his own age that hasn’t been far from his mind. A big guy, about two meters, nearly six and a half feet tall. Long dark hair. Dark eyes. Had lots of battle scars. This kid landed a burning X-Wing on Hoth, came out of it with his flight suit in shreds, dragging a broken leg, raving about Exegol, killing them all, and finally being a free man. Spent three weeks in a Bacta tank, recovering from a whole slew of injuries, and another three weeks in a cast up to his nuts. The patient said his name was Ben Skywalker, that his father was a Corellian starpilot and his grandfather was a Skywalker from Arkanis who grew up on Tattoine. As soon as the cast came off, Ben Skywalker got on a transport with a bunch of other kids with nowhere to go and no one to see, and left the planet. And it wasn’t until Dan saw your broadcast that he made the connection, and called me about it. Does that sound like anybody you know, Leia?”

“It does. I’ve been sitting here all day, full of blind, stupid hope. Thinking that if I’m alive, then Ben might be, too. Waiting for that call.”

“Who the hell else would it be?”

“I don’t know, Wedge. But it sounds like he’s running.”

“You need help chasing him?”

“All I can get. We need to find this Ben Skywalker. But if he is my Ben? What the hell do we do, then? Poe Dameron and Rey spread it all over the Galaxy that Ben Solo fought and killed Kylo Ren and the Knights of Ren, and then he died and became One With the Force. And the smart little bastard wore a mask, most of the time.”

“Let it go, Leia. Any way you slice the pie? Kylo Ren is dead. If Ben Solo isn’t? Give him a chance. He killed Snoke. And the Knights of Ren.  He saved Rey. He saved you. And he helped Rey kill Palpatine. I think he deserves it.”

“Well, Chewie will be happy. I’ll talk to him, first.”

***

As soon as the transport landed, Ben began his wandering.

At first he figured it as a kind of  penance, for his many crimes.

He stopped wearing shoes, or cutting his hair and beard, and all he wore was a black hooded robe, closed with a belt from which hung a metal bowl and cup, a holstered knife, and his lightsaber.

At first Ben just begged, and wandered, changing his robes for coveralls and working on freighters for his passage from planet to planet.

But as time went on, he slipped into a lonely madness.

He took to standing on streetcorners and preaching about the evils of the old world.

“Stop and look at me! I am the mistakes of the past! My mother’s brother tried to murder me, and I murdered my father in turn! With these hands! These hands! This creature you see before you was once a man! Envied by Men, desired by Women! Who desires this creature, now? Who envies this wretch, now? Who?”

By this time a small crowd would have gathered around the very tall, very gaunt man, with wild eyes and a booming deep voice inside a nest of black hair and black beard.

“It was not the Force that did this to me! No, it was the order than we tried, for centuries to put on it. Dividing it, and ourselves into Dark and Light. Jedi and Sith. Empire and Republic. First Order and Resistance. It was this blasphemy against the balance and unity of the Force that brought our Galaxy into three generations of interplanetary war! And this Second New Republic is built on the truth! The truth there is no Dark, or Light. Jedi, or Sith. Only the Force, United. As it lives in all of us, and everything! As we find the balance, within ourselves, in accordance with our form and our nature. But I know there are those that preach the old heresies. When you hear them, think upon me!”

That’s when he would unbuckle his belt and take off his robe, showing them all his scarred, gaunt, filthy body.

Ben had even made the scar of the wound that Rey healed in the ruins iof the Death Star appear in his flesh.

“Stop and look at me! I am the mistakes of the past! My mother’s brother tried to murder me, and I murdered my father in turn! With these hands! These hands! This creature you see before you was once a man! Envied by men, desired by Women! Who desires this creature, now? Who envies this wretch, now? Who? Look on me and know it is time for old things to go. You must let the past die! Kill it, if you have to! Look upon me, and remember my words.”

Sometimes they would throw money in his bowl, sometimes throw things at him.

He hoped that a crowd would martyr him, but no one ever took him seriously enough to kill him.

He slept in alleys and doorways, stowed away on ships, and felt less than human.

Ben’s will to live left him as his madness spiralled out of control. He hardly ate and hardly slept, and his starving body devoured fifty pounds of his flesh, leaving him wiry, rawboned and gaunt.

He hardly felt human, or even humanoid, anymore, because  he was hairy, and smelly, and filthy, and he scavenged through garbage to eat,  like some wild animal.

At the end of a year, he ended up on Tattoine, intending to make a grand end to it.

He would give his sermon, throw off his robes and slit his wrists and his throat with a dirty piece of glass from the street.

But another vagrant warned him that the city fathers of Anchorhead had recently hired a former First Order officer as their chief of police, and although the new Chief understood smugglers were the lifeblood of Anchorhead, he was cracking down on street crime, con men, muggers, preachers, pushers, unregistered whores, and so on.

Ben quietly wished his former comrade well, and gave up the ghost.

But life clung, annoyingly to his skeletal frame.

He lay in the same doorway for three days, and three nights, and on the third night he knew that he was near death.

“Ben.”

He saw  a bluish light in the cold, dark desert night, and rolled his eyes upward.

The face he looked into was very much like his own.

If not for the fair hair and light eyes, it might have been his face.

Ben knew his rescuer, immediately.

“Grandfather. Have you come to take me home?”

“No, Ben. I have come to comfort you, in your suffering. I understand suffering. I understand the peace that comes from enduring suffering, and triumphing over it. But I want you to live. You have suffered enough. I release you from the restraints that we have put on your bond with Rey Skywalker. Call for help. I will wait with you, until she comes. Rey will take you home.”

***

“Rey. Rey, I need you.”

Rey sat up in the dark, and knew this was no dream.

She saw and heard Ben; she saw him through their bond.

But what she saw and heard was horrible.

His face was drawn and filthy, and the hand that reached to her looked skeletal.

He was swathed in a filthy robe, lying in a dirty doorway, in a back street of Anchorhead.

“I see you, Ben. I hear you.”

“Help me, Rey. I want to come home.”

Rey jumped out of bed and threw on her clothes.

“I’m coming, Ben. Wait for me. Don’t leave me, again!”

*** 

Rey stopped her speeder by the dirty doorway and was surprised to see the tall, broad-shouldered hulking Force ghost of Anakin Skywalker.

Gently, he picked up his broken, emaciated grandson, and carried him to the speeder.

“Master Anakin!” Rey gasped.

She watched him wrap Ben in the blanket she had brought, and gently lay him in the back seat of the speeder

“Take my grandson home. And don’t let him out of your sight until he’s well, again.”

“But I don’t know anything about healing! I don’t know who to call! I don’t know what to do! Someone has to help us!”

“There’s an old man living in my friend Ben Kenobi’s old shack. He claims to be a Jedi Healer. I will go there, now, and send him along to the Skywalker Farm. I am sure that he will be able to help you.”

Anakin Skywalker walked off towards the moonlit desert, and dissappeared into a little whirly of wind-driven sand..

***

Rey sped home, in a hurry.

Threepio helped her to carry what was left of Ben Solo into the house.

“Shouldn’t Master Ben have a doctor?”

“No, Threepio! No doctor! No medical droid! No bacta tank! No needle!”

Ben was terrified, but it was the first time he had spoken.

Rey was glad that he was alive enough to speak

“Alright, Master Ben. No doctor. Master Rey, what about the man in the kitchen.”

“He’s not a doctor. Master Ben hates doctors. Don’t talk about doctors! Help me get Master Ben into the bathroom, and tell that man to start doing...whatever it is he’s going to do. Have Artoo heat up some batha broth for Master Ben. Then you and Artoo go back to the shed. It’s too much for you.”

Rey slammed the door on the dithering droid, and went through the bedroom and back into the bathroom.

Ben had managed  to get his robe off and get into the bathtub.

He was covered in bruises and scratches, and you could see his ribs and his hipbones.

What was visible of his face out of the rat’s nest of tangled hair and beard was suffused with all the misery the human race had ever endured.

Rey turned the water on.

“Let me die, Rey. Now that I’m home. I don’t want to live.”

“I want you to live, Ben. This is my miracle, not yours.”

“Grandfather wants me to live. Do you? Really?”

“Yes, Ben, I do! I love you!”

“Then maybe I will live a little longer.”

He lay quietly in the warm water as she scrubbed the dirt off of him, and didn’t protest even though she had to wash his hair and comb the tangles and rats out with oil  several times, and then wash it, again.

It was either that or shave his head.

One of the Skywalkers had left his straight razor there, and Rey had polished it and sharpened it; why she wasn’t sure, but now she carefully shaved the filthy, matted beard away from Ben's gaunt face.

“Don’t shave it all. Kylo Ren didn’t wear a beard.” Ben told her.

It was the only thing he said, but his sad eyes watched her movements.

She helped him get out of the tub, and dried him.

“Thank you.” Ben said.

Ben leaned heavily on her as they made there way into the bedroom; he was still much larger and heavier than her.

But Rey didn’t complain.

She propped him up with pillows, and fed him sips of milk and sips of broth.

“Glass.” He said.

She handed him the glass of milk, and he gulped it down.

“Don’t, Ben, you'll get sick!”

He reached for the bowl, and sniffed it, like a dog, then put it back down.

“No. Meat.”

“You’ll get sick!”

Ben slammed his fist angrily on the nightstand.

“I’M DYING! MEAT, GODDAMN IT, GIVE ME MEAT!”

Bellowing  like an angry Wookiee.

A Wookiee.

Chewbacca was Ben's godfather; he had been adopted into Chewie’s tribe, and had a Wookie name.

Kallaurra.

Angry Wild Warrior.

But she didn’t know where Chewie was and Han and Leia were dead.

“Alright, Ben. Your Uncle Chewie taught me how to make a Wookiee stew. I’ll fix you some meat.”

Rey went out into the kitchen.

She felt helpless and alone.

I don’t know him. I don’t know him, at all.

Rey closed her eyes.

And she called to Master Leia.

As usual, there was no response.

Then she called to Master Luke.

“I’m right here. I told Ben Kenobi, and Master Yoda. Make sure Ben is with Rey. Father agreed with me. They didn’t listen.”

Rey opened her eyes.

Master Luke was sitting at the table.

“No matter where I go? I always seem to end up, right back here. On Tattoine. Now I’m here in the same house.”

“You’re the JedI Healer? When did you come back?”

“Right after I thought I died on Ahch-To. I got the same treatment Ben did. It wasn’t my time. I wasn’t ready. Next thing I knew, I was alive and well, and back on Tattoine. In Ben Kenobi’s hut.”

“I wish I would have known you were so close by.”

“I wish I would have told you.”

“Master Luke, did you ever take care of someone in Ben’s condition?”

“I don’t know what Ben’s condition is.”

Rey explained.

“I have seen men as sick as Ben, and I’ve tried to heal them. Some get better, Rey, and some don’t. They have to want to live. But I’ll do everything I can for Ben. Before I founded the new Jedi Temple,  I studied Jedi healing. I wanted to save lives to atone for the hundreds of thousands I had taken. And I have taken care of Ben when he’s sick.  And I also know how to get him to take medicine. You make something he likes and put it in his food.”

“But we don’t have any medicine.”

“I brought some.”

Master Luke reached into his pocket and got a white cylinder, which he put in Rey’s hands.

She opened it.

It was full of capsules.

“What are they?”

“No. The green capsules are vitamin pills. The orange ones are bacta. Just pop them open and put them in the stew I’m going to show you how to make. It’s a Wookiee recipe that Ben likes. Chewie showed me how to make it.”

Master Luke made a stew with bantha broth, vegetables, a whole nerf tenderloin, and potatoes.

He showed her also how much of the pills to put in.

“Don’t let him gobble it. Feed him a spoonful or two, and wait a half hour, to see if it makes Ben sick. If not. Let him eat the whole bowl. Don’t give him any more tonight. If he’s not sick, tonight, he can have three of these big serving bowls, tomorrow. It’s not too much. Ben’s almost the size of a Wookie, so he eats like one. If his stomach is still alright, tomorrow, then he had have some bread, too. And don’t give him anything to drink but blue milk. If his stomach gets upset, crack one of these purple capsules into some blue milk, and get him to drink it. Make some more of the stew after this pot runs out. After a week, Ben should be able to eat normally. Don’t expect him to gain weight all at once. And don’t overfeed him. The bacta and vitamins should make him well in about a week. But it might take a couple of months before he gains his weight back.”

“REY! WHERE THE HELL IS MY FOOD! MEAT! DYING!” Ben roared.

“Is that a good sign?” Rey asked.

“I think so.  Don’t tell Ben I was here. We’re still not on speaking terms.  I’ll come back to check on him, another day. Oh, and one more thing. As soon as he feels better, he’s going to want to make up for the time you two were apart. That’s not going to happen for him, with his body in the state it’s in. Tell him to be patient. When he’s healed and gained some weight? I’m sure everything will straighten right out.”

“I wish Ben had a Jedi healer to stay with him, tonight.”

“He has one. You are a Jedi. And you have healed him, before. But be careful, Rey. Ben’s life force is at a low ebb, and he’s very sick. You can try to ease his pain, but don’t try to heal him, entirely. It would drain too much life out of you.”

Master Luke got up.

“This is the no fun part, Rey. Ben needs you, now.”

“I don’t mind at all, Master Luke. Ben is alive. I still feel better than I have for a long time. I have hope.”

“That’s good, Rey.”

Luke stood up, as if to go

“Uncle Luke? I know you’re there. I feel your presence.” Ben called out

They both froze.

“I’m sick, Uncle Luke. Are you a Force Ghost, or are you the Jedi Healer that Grandfather was going to get to come here and help me?”

“I’m the old hermit down the road, Ben. Do you want me to come to your room? I know we didn’t part on good terms. But Rey’s nervous about being alone with you, tonight.”

“Would you mind staying with me, Uncle Luke? Everybody else is dead.”

“I don’t mind at all, Ben. I’ll stay here as long as you want me to. I remember where my room is.”

 ***

As Master Luke had suspected, Ben wanted to gobble the food.

His instinct to live and his hunger had overwhelmed his will to destroy himself.

���No, Ben.” Master Luke said.

More patiently than Rey would have, as he moved the bowl away.

Ben tried to grab at it.

“No means no. Don’t get grabby with me.”

“But I’m hungry!”

“You can’t gobble the food up, Ben. You’ll be sick, and that might kill you!” Rey told Ben.

It was a very long half hour.

Ben kept trying to get the bowl, and Master Luke gave it to her and she had to move away from the bed.

He cried.

“Don’t cry, Ben. If you feel alright, you can have the whole bowl, soon. And another glass of blue milk.” Rey assured him.

“I’m hungry! I’m fucking hungry, and I’m  too weak to get out of bed and take it! Where’s my mother, Uncle Luke? Why won’t she talk to me?” he sobbed.

“Your mother is...always with you, Ben. And you’ll get better. Rey and  I will make sure.”

The half-hour passed and Luke gave Ben the whole bowl of food, and a glass of blue milk.

“Eat slowly, kid. You start gobbling, and I’ll take the bowl away.”

As he ate, slowly, for once, Ben told them what he had done for the past year.

“Why?” Rey asked.

“Rey! Don’t ask why. Ben is suffering. He doesn’t need a reason.” Luke told her.

“I have one. I was asleep in a bunkhouse, with a bunch of other men on this freighter. And I realized that killing Snoke, and his troopers, and all his toadying fucking followers I killed on my way to slaughter the Emperor didn’t make up for killing my father. Sure, Snoke influenced me. Told me to do it. But I had a choice. And I chose to kill him. I killed my father. Whenever anyone would say that to me, that killed my father? I would just think, no, Snoke made me do it. But I did it. I did. I killed my father. I loved him more than anybody in the world, even though he was kind of a shitty father, and sometimes I hated him for it. And I killed him. In such a way that he doesn’t even have a grave. When I realized all of that? It broke my mind.”

Ben snapped the wooden spoon in half.

“Just like that.”

He handed Rey the bowl and the empty glass.

Luke took the spoon, and put both halves in his hand, and closed his palm.

When he opened it, the spoon wasn’t broken.

“Your mind will heal, Ben. Just like this And before this year is out? You will see Han and Leia again. I don’t know how. But I know you will.”

“I did see Dad. He forgave me. I just can’t forgive me.”

“Ben, you saved me. You saved the Galaxy. Without you I could never have defeated the Emperor. You’re a hero. Han is proud of you. So is Master Leia. Stop torturing yourself.” Rey begged.

“Ben, you said it was time to let old things go.You’re not taking your own advice.  This is how the Sith broke you. You don’t have to break yourself. You’re free. You won.” Luke told him.

“I’m tired. I think I need to go to sleep. I had better try to get to the bathroom, first. Rey already has to take care of me like I’m a baby. I don’t want to piss the bed like one.”

Ben managed to totter into the bathroom.

Rey wanted to hover over him, but she knew he was humiliated that she was seeing him like this, at all.

She waited.

He made his way slowly back to the bed and lay down.

“I’m going to go, now Ben.To my old room.  I’ll be back when you wake up  to see how you are.” Luke told him.

He put his hand on Ben’s forehead.

“Sleep, now. And have good dreams.”

Ben fell asleep.

Rey walked back to the door with her Master.

“Will he die in his sleep, Master Luke?”

“No. Sleep will heal him. We’ll let him sleep as long as he wants to. I think I’ll go say hello to my droids. Let them know that they’ll be coming with me, when I go home. I could use the company. And you have Ben, now.”

“They’re your droids, Master Luke.”

Master Luke opened the door and walked out into the courtyard, and beyond.

She watched him, retreating into the setting suns, heading for the old shed.

He wanted to help Ben, but also?

He was glad to be home, in spite of himself.

Rey understood.

***

She went back to the bedroom.

Rey got undressed and got into bed with Ben.

She pulled up all the covers, so he would be warm.

He woke up, for a moment.

“I haven’t slept in a bed since I left that freighter. And I haven’t slept in my bed, here, for what seems like an age. I think I might sleep for a long time.”

“As long as you need to, Ben. I’ll be here.”

Rey stayed awake until he was asleep, and for a hour afterward, making sure he was just asleep.

But then she fell asleep, too.

 ***

Ben slept all through the way through another day, until the morning after that day.

Rey kept checking on him, and so did Master Luke,  but he moved around in his sleep, and he snored, and once he got up and drank some water, so she knew he was just sleeping.

That morning he walked stiffly into the kitchen, dressed in a baggy cream tunic and brown trousers.

He had a cloth belt wrapped many times around the waist so that the clothes, although they were the right lengths for him, didn’t fall off him.

“Ben, those are my father’s clothes.”

“I know. They were still here, when I came here. I wear them, all the time. The desert preserves things.”

He had bathed, and dressed but he hadn’t shaved.

“I’m growing a goatee. To distinguish Ben Solo from Kylo Ren.”

“Everyone knows that Ben Solo killed Kylo Ren. Nobody’s going to come after you, Ben. You’re a free man. You earned it.” Master Luke told him.

There was a weird sense of calm, and dignity about Ben that she’d never seen in him, before.

He thanked her politely when she gave him the serving bowl of stew with the serving spoon.

Rey had gone out and bought the most fine, expensive loaf of rich, black, seeded bread that she could find, and put it on the table.

Ben snatched up the heel, and turned it over in his hands, and then he put it under his nose and sniffed it.

“I don’t remember the last time I had bread that wasn’t stale. Or mouldy.”

He ate the slice of bread, slowly.

Rey wanted to cry.

There were tears in Master Luke’s eyes.

But she didn’t want Ben to become hysterical.

So she carried on eating her cereal and blue milk.

“Have another piece. With your stew.” She encouraged him.

“Chewie used to make this for me. When I was a kid, and I’d get sick. It’s a Wookie recipe.”

“I know. He taught me how to make it.” Master Luke told Ben.

After he ate, Ben got up and walked out onto the hot sand, barefoot.

Rey supposed he was used to it, by now.

But he came back.

“I have to get used to boots again. I still have mine.”

 ***

Ben didn’t like to stay inside, too long.

He got restless.

And when he slept at night, it was like he was dead.

After a week, Luke was right, he was much better and he had gained some weight.

Before Master Luke went home, he brought Obi-Wan, to talk to Ben while Luke was giving him a final once-over.

Their Master returned and brought Obi-Wan with him.

He spoke with Ben while Luke was examining him.

“Were you seeking a vision, Ben? Or were you trying to be a vision?” Obi-Wan asked.

“I was trying to be a vision. I wanted to spread the word about the New Path. And the Force United. And to warn people not to go back to the old ways. I wanted to use my body to show them. So I made all the old wounds and scars reappear.”

“You’re on the right path, Ben. But you must not use suffering to make your point. Yours or that of others.” Obi-Wan told him.

Ben nodded.

Master Luke pronounced him much better.

He took Artoo and Threepio and went home.

After that, Rey and Ben were on their own.

Ben quickly started getting his body to do what he wanted, again.

He took long walks in the desert.

After two weeks, he was running, in nothing but a pair of shorts, running over the burning sand, barefoot and mostly naked.

But he stopped being antsy when he was in the house.

***

Rey had to go buy some food, and Ben wanted to drive her speeder to Anchorhead.

When they got to the store where she bought the bread, and the old baker saw Ben, he came out from behind the counter.

“I can’t believe it! Young man, what’s your name”

“Ben Skywalker.”

“Was your grandaddy Anakin Skywalker? Son of Shmi Skywalker and Kylo Skywalker, who died a warrior on Arkanis, and that started all the trouble his family got into?”

“That’s me.”

“I knew your granddaddy, then. We were both slaves, here. The Jedi took him away to become one of them. But he wanted to be a pilot. Me, I got sold to a baker. Now I’m a free man and this is my shop. But Ani used to come here to visit his mother. You look so much like him. Is he still living?”

“No. But he became a pilot. And a Jedi. He died a Jedi, at the end of Clone Wars and became one with the Force.”

“I suppose that’s what he wanted. But it still makes me glad I became a baker. Did you go to that Jedi Temple? Out on Yavin-4?”

“I did. But it wasn’t for me. Too may rules. So I left, and stuck with what I love. The stars.”

“So, you’re a starpilot too? Good for you, son. Ani would have liked that.”

“I’m sure he does.”

***

Time passed them by.

Ben continued to fight his way back from the brink of death.

He fought so hard, and regained his physique and his strength so quickly that Rey began to suspect he was healing himself, using the Force

Ben had always been strong in the Force, but he had become both more accomplished and more powerful than before. There was a new light in Ben's dark, ancient eyes, and a new kind of power animated him.

The Force was with Ben, but in a form Rey had never encountered.

But, neither she nor Ben were thinking on that, or the New Path of the Force United that they were, arguably supposed to be making a way for.

No, the weightiest problem at the Skywalker farm was much less cosmic.

Most people did not know that Rey and Kylo Ren had been star-crossed lovers.

And no one knew that it wasn’t just one last kiss that Ben Solo bestowed upon Rey before he died.

That was the elephant in the bedroom.

“Rey?’

She was asleep.

“What, Ben? Have you been awake all night?”

“I can’t sleep. What if I killed it?”

“Killed what?”

“My cock.”

“I’m sure you’d be fine with another woman.”

Ben hadn’t heard that.

“How could I just let it go, like that? Fuck, I haven’t even jerked off for six months! I don’t even remember the last time I got hard. I killed it. I lost my mind, destroyed my body, and killed my cock. And I’m ugly again, and I disgust you.”

“Ben, you are not ugly. You have never been ugly. That’s all in your mind. Go to sleep.”

“Then why are you so cold, all the sudden?”

“I didn’t want to hurt you. You were like a human skeleton.”

“I’m fine, now.”

“Go to sleep, Ben.”

Ben swore.

He got out of bed.

“Where are you going?”

He jerked the bathroom door open, angrily so that the knob smacked into the hole it had already made in the wall. 

“Fuck it! I'm going to go into the bathroom and try to get it up for somebody I know who cares about how upset I am, and wants to try to make me a man, again! Me!”

But then?

He had a better idea.

And he got back into bed with Rey.

“Wait! I know what this is about. You think the last time we fucked, it killed me. That you killed me. Now, you're afraid if you touch me again, I’ll just die. Right?”

“Ben, I…you did die.”

“I was going to die anyway. I figured I might as well die hard.”

Rey couldn’t help laughing.

A little.

“Besides, how many times have you tried to kill me? As many times as I told you I was going to fuck you whether you liked it, or not. Funny how it always seems to turn me on when you try to kill me. And when I act like I’m going to fuck you whether you like it or not? You always like it. The first fight we ever had? I wish I knew that you almost cutting my face off with a lightsaber was foreplay. If I had? Instead of offering to show you the ways of the force, I would have told you that if you came with me, I was going to tie you to a table, again, and slide my tongue up your sweet Rebel cunt.”

In several years of very dirty talk, and horrible arguments and insults, that was both the dirtiest and the most horribly insulting thing Ben ever said to her.

She slapped him in the face, and he laughed.

“Don’t you dare, Ben Solo!”

“What? Don’t try that high and mighty shit on me. I’m the guy who fucks you. I know what you like. And you know, you never asked me what truths I brought back from the other side.”

He pulled the covers off the bed, and grabbed Rey by the ankles and pushed her legs open.

“Never gave a minute's thought to the Force United. Or the new path. But I’m not going to make the same mistake twice. I’m not gonna ask you if you want me to teach it to you. Because I know what you want from me.”

Ben put Rey’s legs around his shoulders.

“I’m just going to slide my tongue up your sweet Rebel cunt. I know you like that.”

If Ben's intent was to inflame them both?

It worked.

He rose to the occasion, and Rey felt anything but cold.

She was still in the throes of the orgasm he gave her as he was sitting up at the bottom of the bed, saying:

“Hard as beaker fucking steel. It worked!”

Yes.

It had.

“Ben, you horrible bastard, I’ve wanted you so much for so long!” she told him.

“Yeah. I know.” he told her.

***

All around the Skywalker farm you could hear the sound of a woman, screaming

And a man’s savage, guttural voice.

“Do you feel it now? Do you feel the raw power of the Dark Side?”

The woman’s screams grew louder and the man uttered a deep, dark, Satanic laugh.

He pinned her to the bed with his big, powerful body, and she locked her arms and legs around him screaming every time he thrust into her.

Faster.

Deeper.

Harder.

“Can you feel my power? The power of the Force United? Is this the way you want to get fucked, little scavenger? Fast and dirty and hard?”

More screams ripped from the woman’s throat.

“Yes! Yes! I feel your power. Your power! More!” the woman sobbed.

“My power? Who’s power? Say it! Fucking say it!” the man ordered, snarling through gritted teeth.

“Ben Solo! Oh, gods, gods, Ben fucking Solo!”

The woman screamed for joy, the man gave voice to another guttural laugh, and it resolved into a roar like the sound an angry Wookie makes before he tears your arms out and beats you to death with them.

Then, it was quiet, again.

***

Rather prudishly, Rey pulled the covers up to her neck.

In contrast, Ben lay on top of them, naked, his arms behind his head, his eyes closed, a happy,  untroubled smile on his face.

“That was worth fucking waiting. You are one hot little piece of ass, Little Rebel Girl. You had better come out from under those covers. I’m not done with you.”

“Can’t I go back to sleep, now?”

“Why?’

“Ben, you don’t understand. You were born without shame. I’m embarrassed. People don’t…I…I mean, I enjoy making love as much as, well, any woman, but…you have no idea what I am on about, do you?”

He turned on the light.

“Rey, I understand your ‘Who? Poor little me?’ act is what’s kept you alive through all these years, and it keeps people out of your hair. But don’t play it on me. I know better. I’m also the guy who fights with you. At your side and as your opponent, remember? So you can mince around Tattoine, acting like you are the little scavenger, a little war widow, just getting by, spending her life in elegiac genteel exile. Living with the memory of her lost love. But we both know it’s bantha shit.”

“Oh, really? And how would you know, Ben?”

“Rey, you slapped my face in a room full of smoking corpses and pools of blood and told me to quit fucking talking and kiss you. Then you wanted me to fuck you, on Snoke’s throne. You hardly gave me time to get rid of the mess and drape the curtains over the throne!  I mean, there I was, on my knees, with one foot resting on a dead man, and you’re pulling my hair and calling me a Sith bastard and telling me you’re going to come in my mouth, so I had better lick it up. Then, when I got up? You would have thought I poured honey all over my cock the way you went after it. You broke the zipper on my pants, getting it out. I had to hold your nose so you’d open your mouth so I could pull my cock out, because I thought if I came in your mouth before I fucked you, you’d cut me in half. I mean, I could hardly believe my luck.  I felt like the luckiest man in the Galaxy. Who knew you were the kind of girl who loved to give head and liked it doggie style on the throne of the Supreme Leader? I thought I might have been in love with you before that day. After? I was done. You had me. For the first time in my life, I was crazy in love.”

Rey bit her lip, to keep in a laugh, a scream of outrage, or both.

“I was carried away in the moment.” she sniffed

“This went on for longer than a moment. Hell, the first time I told you I could take what I wanted, you looked at me like, oh, Daddy, let’s fight first, and I might kill you later, but take me now, I’m all yours.”

“So what if I was immediately attracted to you? A lot of women have been!”

“Not when they were strapped to a table, killer. Rey, I was your enemy. I was the bad guy you were fighting against. I gave the orders that almost wiped out the whole Rebel fleet! And even after that, you came here to meet me every chance you got! And we never talked, here.  We talked when we were light-years away from each other. When we were together all we did was fuck. I was the Supreme Leader, I could do what I wanted. Go where I wanted. Nobody questioned me. I killed three generals who asked me what my business was with the Rebel girl. Those bloodless Imperial fucks stopped asking me stupid questions about my Little Rebel Girl after that. You were training to be a Jedi. You were the big hero of the Resistance. And you risked all that to come to Tattoine and fuck me out in the desert. When you had two guys, right there, who would have dragged their balls over hot coals just to get a shot at you. How long did the moment last? Two or three years? That’s a long karking moment, isn’t it?”

“It’s because I love you, Ben.”

“I love you too, Rey. But you are not a poor, meek, winsome little scavenger. You are a hot-blooded Force warrior. A two-tone, blood-glutted, cock-hungry hellcat who likes fast ships, bad men, high adventure, a damn good fight, and a real hot fuck. Be who you are, Rebel Girl. Some other guys might get turned off by that, but I’m Kylo Ren, remember? I love it when you’re bad. Hell, I killed myself at Exegol, satisfying our mutual battle lust. But I figured, what a way to go!”

“That’s why I was never going to touch another man, ever again. I killed you, Ben.”

“I came, and then I went.”

Ben laughed.

“It’s not funny! You gave me life and I took it back from you!”

“You didn’t kill me, Rey. Sheev Palpatine killed me. I knew I was going to die in that cave. I knew it before I brought you back. But I thought, hell, if I have to die, I might as well do it after a great victory in battle and a great fuck with the Valkryie I love. My Little Rebel Girl. And it’s not going to happen again, because I am now the most powerful Force sensitive being in the galaxy. Well, next to you. So do me a favor, and drop the act. It turns me off, and you’re insulting yourself.”

“Ben Solo, you are such a bad man!”

“Through and through. Did you think Kylo was the bad guy and Ben was the good guy? The best you can say about me is that I’m the good bad guy. Rey, my father was a ruthless pirate.  My grandfather was Darth Vader. I’m bad right down to my bones.”

“You wont tell anyone else about me, will you, Ben?”

“They already know. They’re just too terrified to argue with you. Damn, I have to piss.”

He got up and went to the bathroom.

Rey shifted around a little.

Thinking about what he had said.

Ben came back to bed.

He got under the covers, kissed her, and rolled over on his back and shut out the light.

Rey was a little disappointed, until Ben hauled her on top of him.

“OK, Rebel Girl! Your turn to be on top!”

***

The one thing that people all the way to Anchorhead would tell you about Ben Skywalker was that he had to be related to Ani Skywalker, because he looked just like him.

His hair and beard were black, and hsi etse were dark, but other than that, he was Ani all over again.

He wore the same kind of desert pilot’s clothes; in fact, Ben and his wife were poor; he might have been wearing Anakin’s clothes that he found at the old Skywalker moisture farm.

Young Skywalker and his wife, who was a nameless scavenger from Jakku before he gave her his had come right from the wars.

Ben had lived out on the old place for years, but during the wars, he was always coming and going. 

When he came to the cantina in the village without his wife?

Once he had a few pitchers of beer, he'd show you all his scars.

Take his pants down and everything, and the foolish boy didn’t wear underwear.

He had moods, but those scars meant he came by those moods, honestly.

He said he was a pilot, but all he seemed to be doing was getting his old wreck of a ship fixed up.

You might see him, running through the desert, barefoot, bareheaded, and slathered with sun protection, wearing only a pair of regulation Imperial exercise undershorts.

When he got to the village, he’d stop by the cantina for lunch.

“Training. I eat too much, and I drink too much, so I have to train like a goddamn Sith just to keep from turning into a big day tub of guts. That, and the Little Rebel Girl I married? She’s horny as an Askajian whore with a Twi'lek mother. She was a real killer, in the wars. If I ever quit banging her two, three times a day? She’d burn down the planet. But she keeps me in shape. Best exercise there is. Doing push-ups with girls. Before I met Rey? Hell, I had two or three women a week, just to keep me happy. Hell of a woman, my Little Rebel Girl. Better run home before she thinks I’ve got a girl on the side.”

Then he’d drink another pitcher of blue milk, finish his four sandwiches, and run home.

But what Ben was most famous for in the village was fighting a full grown Wookiee, and winning.

He made a lot of money doing it, too.

Ben Skywalker was the local character before the war was over, but taht wa sto be expected.

He was a Skywalker, after all; they were all characters.

In short?

Nobody suspected a damn thing.

***

After having lived by her wits from the time she was 14, and then becoming a Jedi, a warrior and the savior of the Galaxy?

The last thing Rey thought would make her happy was being a wife and keeping a house.

But somehow, just now?

It did.

At first Ben's moods were a problem, but when she discovered there were four of them, it became manageable.

Brooding Mystic, Wild Man, Happy-Go-Lucky Pirate, and Sexual Death Star.

Sometimes all in the same day.

And she had to admit, the fact that Sexual Death Star was a regular daily mood made it easier.

Ben naturally had a lot of stamina, and he was well endowed, but Rey always thought he had made sure to become a good lover to make it up to a woman for his moodiness.

But Ben knew himself, he had stocked his home with all wooden plates, bowls, and cups, and a stoneware pitcher that she he said he had thrown at a stone wall before buying.

So he got mad, sometimes and threw things and yelled?

It didn’t bother her.

Ben was always hungry, so he was always cooking, and there was always enough to eat.

They stayed in bed for days, sometimes, making love, and being goofy and just being together.

And she had not just a room, but a whole farm.

She and Ben had cleaned it up, and fixed everything, and even the old rusting farm machinery looked like art.

Ben worked on the Falcon, his ship now and there was a lot of work to do, because Rey had let it sit for a year.

Ben talked about getting in touch with “Uncle Chewie” he was thinking about getting back to work, with Rey as his scavenger.

He had a scheme in his heart, and that was a good sign.

But neither of them were ready to leave.

They went to the market in the old speeder, and brought fresh bread, and sometimes, when the moon was bright they had lightsaber duels out in the desert, and then they’d make love like lions, under the stars.

The stars that still belonged to them.

It was a beautiful little life, with just the two of them, but one day, the west wind from out behind Tattoine’s twin suns blew Chewbacca in to Mos Eisley, and there was a radio message from him.

He was coming out to the Skywalker Farm, and when he got there, they should be on the Falcon and ready to go.

Rey knew, then that everything was about to change.

[gffa]

You know how some fandoms just keep piling on the fic, so you’re like, “I’ll just wait one more day, so I can read a few more and include them on the list!” and then two weeks later it’s still happening and you finally have to go, “NO, I HAVE TO YELL ABOUT THIS NOW, NOT IN ANOTHER MONTH.” and yet people still keep posting fic? That’s me yelling at STAR WARS fandom about how much wonderful fic there is and that I cannot keep up with it and it’s the best problem to have! Because, oh, this collection has some incredible fic, so many of them that I want to shove right at people and yell at them to read this amazing thing, and how brilliant this fandom is. STAR WARS FIC RECS: TIME TRAVEL RECS: ✦ Legacy by myrlendi (thehistorygeek), luke & leia & obi-wan & anakin & ahsoka & cast, time travel, 105k wip    Three months after the Battle of Endor, Luke Skywalker goes in search of a rumoured Jedi temple in a secluded part of the Mid Rim. He finds within the temple nothing but a strange artifact, which unexpectedly brings him much closer to the Jedi of old than he ever thought he would be. ✦ Let’s Try This Again by Nny11, obi-wan & ahsoka & anakin & cast, time travel, 33.5k wip    Anakin’s life is shaken up when he finds a small togrutan toddler hiding in a dingy alleyway, after all, she did create a Force bond with him and is apparently his future Padawan. Wizard! PREQUELS RECS: ✦ A Constituency of One by victoria_p (musesfool), padme & obi-wan & anakin & cast, 3.7k    Padmé is the one who figures it out. ✦ And the Void Answered Back by Ghost_Owl, obi-wan & anakin & rey & finn & poe & ben & yoda & maz & han & cast, force ghosts, 84.9k wip    (Follows the Force ghosts of Anakin, Obi Wan, and friends getting dragged kicking and screaming through the events of The Force Awakens) ✦ Supreme Chancellor Obi-Wan Kenobi by stonefreeak, obi-wan & anakin & padme & cody & bail & palpatine & cast, 22.1k wip    By an old Republic law, all members of the Jedi High Council are senators in the Galactic Senate, and can thus be voted in as chancellor. ✦ Dooku Deserves a Break by nny11, dooku & qui-gon & yoda & obi-wan & anakin & ahsoka & luke & cast, 1k    Master, it’s time now. The voice was faint and familiar, and it burned. It’s soothing sound eating away at everything. Pain, pain, pain- It went ignored. ✦ The Past Remains by otherhawk, obi-wan & anakin & cody & mace & plo & adi & depa & cast, 15.6k    The war drags on leaving trauma and destruction in its wake. After a bereaved Master is accused of harming his padawan, Obi-Wan is sent to talk to her, dredging up memories of his own past. ✦ Not the same fate as mine by liv_k, obi-wan & anakin, 2.6k    Excerpts from the journal of a newly minted Jedi Knight. ✦ perfect in so many ways by victoria_p (musesfool), padme/sabe, nsfw, 1k    Padmé knows she’s been selfish. ✦ untitled by stonefreeak, obi-wan & bant, 1k    When Bant steps into Obi-Wan’s room in the Halls, it’s like a balm to his nerves. She’s one of his oldest friends, and her familiar presence is so very soothing. He really has missed her, they see each other too rarely these days, what with the war. ✦ Villain of a Different Story by HiNerdsItsCat (HiLarpItsCat), obi-wan/satine & anakin & cast, 73.2k wip    It turns out that there are some perks to being the Chosen One: Anakin finds himself transported five years into the past—only to discover that it isn’t his past, but a completely different one. One where Obi-Wan Kenobi left the Jedi Order, where Qui-Gon Jinn survived… and where Anakin Skywalker is the galaxy’s greatest villain. ✦ Accidental Baby Acquisition: The Obi-Wan Kenobi Way by kitkatkaylie, obi-wan & anakin & qui-gon & cast, 8.5k wip    Shmi Skywalker was desperate, so when she saw a Jedi in the marketplace of Mos Espa she did something that many would judge her for if they knew but just as many would understand. ✦ A Personal Touch by DragonHoardsBooks, obi-wan & anakin, 6.2k    New jedi padawan Anakin Skywalker realizes that there is more to being a jedi then he tought. Discovering a completely new culture will take time and effort, but maybe he’ll make some friends along the way. ✦ untitled by stonefreeak, mace & cast, 1.2k    “News, I have, from the investigation into the altered mission reports from the Senate.” ✦ untitled by stonefreeak, anakin & ahsoka & background obi-wan & cast, 2.4k    The past and the present blurs together, Anakin can hardly breathe through it. Too many thoughts crowd inside his head and the more he tries to sort himself out, the more of the past he remembers and the more fears for the future it brings up. ✦ Passing by Nny11, ahsoka/barriss & luminara & anakin, modern au, 18.3k    Barriss claims she’s dating Ahsoka, Ahsoka agrees to go along with it, and both of them spend the next 6 months worrying the other will discover their crush on the other. Nobody is really surprised about this fact besides them. ✦ Jedi of Light by Sannah, obi-wan/anakin/padme & mace & yoda & plo & even & jocasta & cast, 9.4k wip    Out of irritation with the war and with permission from the Council, several talk show hosts create a show that airs weekly about the Jedi. They name the show *Jedi of Light,* and go around following Jedi and asking them questions. OBI-WAN/ANAKIN RECS: ✦ And yet, somehow, a happier ending by liv_k, obi-wan/anakin (pre-slash?), ~1k    He had always known that there would be no happy ending waiting for them at the end of the road. And yet, somehow, he felt that this was happier than what could have been. ✦ The Missing Part by Nightstar269, obi-wan/anakin & ahsoka & palpatine, NSFW, modern au (of sorts), 109.3k wip    Anakin Skywalker, a student of mechanical engineering, has always felt that his life was lacking something, a feeling that was made much worse with the deaths of his mother first, and of the woman he loved some time later. Still haunted by the pain and heartbreak, he tries to go on with his life as well as he can. When an initiative of the director of the university has the students attending the classes of another degree so as to enrich their knowledge, he will meet someone that will turn his world upside down. ✦ my push and my shove by victoria_p (musesfool), obi-wan/anakin/padme, nsfw, crossdressing, d/s, 1.8k    There wasn’t much Anakin wouldn’t do to make Padmé and Obi-Wan happy. ✦ Collar by bell (belldreams), obi-wan/anakin, NSFW, d/s, 9.4k    “You have to be sure, Anakin. Once we’re in, we’re in.” “I think I can handle being your sub, Obi-Wan.“ ✦ Shaak Herding for the Troubled and Lonely by protos_metazu_ison (larkspyt), obi-wan/anakin & anakin/padme & ahsoka & plo & cast, au, 34.3k wip    Disgraced Master Obi-Wan Kenobi was content to live out the rest of his life as a hermit until the Prime Minister appeared at his door, begging him to attend the Skywalker clan’s annual party. ✦ Solstice by lilyconrad, obi-wan/anakin & ahsoka & cast, 8.9k wip    After the events of Equinox, Obi-Wan and Anakin find themselves back at war with enemies both seen and unseen. ✦ Home by little_tales, obi-wan/anakin & qui-gon & shmi & cast, time travel, 6.4k wip    Time travel fix-it story with a bit of a twist. After his death, Obi-Wan wakes up on Tatooine, in the body of his padawan self. But instead of trying to prevent Anakin from Falling, he decides to change the future by stopping Qui-Gon from ever meeting the little Ani. ✦ Tidbits by SingManyFaces, obi-wan/anakin, ~1k    Things go a little bit differently when Anakin sees Obi-Wan off on his mission to Utapau. ✦ untitled by subskywalker, obi-wan/anakin + implied obi-wan/anakin/padme, nsfw, 1.6k    (The easiest way to kill someone? You just need to kill what they love the most.) ✦ 36 Questions by kenobiapologist, obi-wan/anakin + background anakin/padme + implied obi-wan/anakin/padme, 30.7k    In a study by psychologist Arthur Aron, they found that strangers would fall in love when asked to answer 36 questions together. ✦ Let’s Be Wrong Together by bluebell26, obi-wan/anakin, NSFW, 3.1k    Anakin Skywalker had a dark secret. He’s been in love with his Master for several years now. He is attached. Yes, attached. It was bad, he shouldn’t, but what his former Master didn’t know wouldn’t hurt him. ✦ Untouchable by Blu3sc0rpion, obi-wan/anakin, NSFW, non-con issues/themes, 64k wip    A mission on Kraysiss-Two takes a turn for the worse. Ancient Sith designs work against both Obi-wan and Anakin as they desperately try to find a way off world. In the throes of confusion their relationship begins to spiral. They might be able to escape, but can they ever truly be rescued? ✦ Seed by bell (belldreams), obi-wan/anakin + anakin/padme, NSFW, 44k    When Anakin falls prey to a lethal poison, Obi-Wan has no choice but use all his resources to heal him– no matter how reluctant he is in administering the antidote. ✦ Miasma by lilyconrad, obi-wan/anakin & cody & rex & & kix & cast, dark themes, 20.6k    Obi-Wan never believed his best friend and lover Anakin would die first. But he has. ✦ [iasip music] Anakin Explains to His Darkest Timeline Son That He’s Gay by destiny919, obi-wan/anakin & luke & ahsoka & cast, 2.2k    "Ah, Padawan,” said Qui-Gon. “The crux of the matter lies in that our world is prey to the spectre of compulsory heterosexuality.” Obi-Wan gasped, horrified. “No! Not that!” ✦ Swear On It by dirkygoodness, obi-wan/anakin, NSFW, mild d/s undertones, 6.5k    He squeezes his eyes shut tight against it and holds his breath for a moment, trying to get himself under control. Tonight it doesn’t seem to be working, though, because the images of people he knows and loves hurt and bloody and dead just won’t get out of his mind. ✦ Unexpected by planetary_retrograde, obi-wan/anakin, NSFW, 2.1k    Obi-Wan’s first instinct when Anakin is hiding something is to help. ✦ Hidden Treasures by SingManyFaces, obi-wan/anakin, modern au, 3.9k    Ben Kenobi doesn’t look like the type to have tattoos, and Anakin badly wants to see his hidden ink. ✦ He Is the Chosen One by wearethewitches, obi-wan/anakin & cast, fem!anakin, 17.8k    Darth Vader dies. Then, Anakin Skywalker wakes in the body of a dead slave woman in 31 BBY, a year before the Occupation of Naboo. ORIGINAL TRILOGY RECS: ✦ Maker by ambiguously, luke & r2-d2 & c-3po, 1.8k    Threepio’s processor has an error. Luke and Artoo have to figure out why. ✦ does it bother anyone else that someone else has your name? by suzukiblu, multiple pairings across all of star wars, soulmate marks, 2.9k    Drabble series about various soulmates in the Star Wars universe. ✦ brittle, break by glorious_clio, leia & luke & han & chewbacca & rieekan & cast, 8.2k    They’re not on Hoth very long, but Leia stands still long enough for it to leave an impression on her. A very cold sort of impression. ✦ sand into glass by glorious_clio, luke & cliegg & owen & beru, 2.2k    AU where Cliegg is around for Luke’s arrival at the Lars homestead. Luke has a lot to learn from his grandfather. REBELS RECS: ✦ The Starry Crown by bedlamsbard, ezra & kanan & sabine & zeb & chopper & cast, 8.8k wip    Months after Ezra Bridger vanished into the depths of the mysterious Jedi temple on Lothal, he reappears – with Kanan Jarrus in tow. All Hera Syndulla and the other surviving members of the Ghost crew want is to retrieve their missing teammates, but a Jedi who can raise the dead is a prize too great for the Empire to pass up. Palpatine will do anything to get Ezra and the secrets he carries – secrets that may allow the Emperor to control reality itself. FULL DETAILS + RECS HERE!

[godshood-archived]

cher     vc     can     anyone     c     me     .     i’m     rosie     (     she     /     her     )     though     i     will     respond     to     any     number     of     profanities     with     sum     special     luv     for     village     idiot     !     i’m     not     hard     to     please     .     i     see     a     woman     going     feral     in     a     movie     ,     i     believe     that     movie     is     humanity’s     greatest     cinematic     achievement     .     who     am     i     ,     if     not     a     hole     for     henry     cavill     ?     umm     like     this     to     validate     me     or     to     get     sum     plotting     going     though     you     can     always     reach     me     on     discord     at     elizabeth debicki is 6′3#7585     n     ummmm     below     are     the     sewer     rats     !

case     file          :          ramorini     ,     luciano          my     god     ,     whose     performance     am     i     watching

associations          :          shoulders     worn     with     the     weight     of     the     world     —     an     atlas     too     young     and     endured     too     long     .     scars     like     ghosts     on     the     skin     telling     of     tribulations     from     a     past     life     long     forgotten     .     a     lack     of     decorum     rejected     seemingly     centuries     past     .

1938     ,     italy          what     is     this     space     between     myself     and     myself

memoir          :          palms     made     to     crumble     empires     and     leave     ruins     in     smoke     .     a     wreckoning     ,      a     monster     made     even     before     the     curse     of     a     family     legacy     .     the     wicked     ways     of     a     grandfather     who     saw     no     child     in     pleading     blue     eyes     —     marrow     and     flesh     to     be     molded     .     bloodied     flesh     ,     teeth     bared     ,     veins     of     ruined     ash     .     sanity     and     solace     in     siblings     he     held     too     tight     .     what     does     it     mean     to     be     human     ,     if     you     never     truly     were     ?     years     spent     lost     in     a     hatred     for     a     self     not     his     own     to     claim     .     wishes     his     hands     were     made     for     more     than     the     calamity     of     ruining     but     wishing     is     a     faithless     practice     .

full   name          :          luciano     dante     ramorini

nicknames          :          luc     ,     occasionally     luci     though     don’t     expect     to     not     get     punched     in     the     gut     for     it

birthdate          :          december     19

hometown          :          milan     ,     italy

current   location          :          sacred     heart     academy      ,      wales

languages   spoken          :          italian      ,      english      ,      latin

distinguishing   features          :          a     general     unapproachable     attitude

physical   ailments          :          n/a

neurological   conditions          :          n/a

positive          :          iconoclastic     ,     candid

negative          :          amoral     ,     parlous

fears          :          succombing     to     a     darkness     within     him     that     grows     ,     clawing     ,     begging     to     be     let     out

aspirations          :          escaping     this     life

likes          :          rock     music     ,     the     comfort     of     being     alone     ,     the     mutt     he     took     into     his     home     affectionately     named     bowie     ,     ice     baths

dislikes          :          questions     of     morality     ,     mint     chocolate     ,     having     his     head     crowded     with     thoughts     he     doesn’t     dare     to     say     out     loud     ,     movie     adaptations     of     books

case     file          :          del     bosque     ,     cressida          mouthful     of     white     hot     fire     ,     tongue     coated     in     poison

associations          :          a     scream     towards     nothingness     ;     throat     made     raw     and     hoarse     .     nightmares     from     a     past     life     that     awaken     your     body     in     a     heave     all     sweat     kissed     and     ribs     rattling     .     pomegranate     juice     sticky     where     it     runs     from     a     fist     clenched     too     tight     .

1938     ,     cuba          there’s     a     hunger     in     me     ,     something     vicious

memoir          :          born     where     womanhood     was     defined     by     having     a     voyeuristic     relationship     with     pain     ——     am     i     suffering     beautifully     ?     is     my     agony     lovable     ?     lived     too     long     as     a     carefully     constructed     performance     piece     to     those     who     would   see     themselves     as     supeior     and     power     (     taken     ,     not     granted     .     never     granted     )     promised     a     ceasation     of     begging     to     be     believed     ,     recognized     ,     acknowledged     .     a   willingness   to     burn     villages     to     the     ground     ,     drain     people     of     their     blood     ,     and     see     to     the     ruin     of     empires     but     still     thinks     men     to     be     the     worst     monster     of     all     .     years     have     not     granted     control     over     her     blood     lust     and     greed     for     power     .     a     stubborn     refusal     to     be     tamed     .

full   name          :          cressida     irene     del     bosque

nicknames          :          none

birthdate          :          november     14

hometown          :          santa     cruz     del     norte     ,     cuba

current   location          :          sacred     heart     academy      ,      wales

languages   spoken          :          spanish      ,      english

distinguishing   features          :          an     unassuming     ,     innocent     face

physical   ailments          :          n/a

neurological   conditions          :          n/a

positive          :          reticent     ,     sycophantic

negative          :          choleric     ,     scelestic

fears          :          completely     losing     her     humanity

aspirations          :          to     make     a     mark     on     the     world     where     it     counts

likes          :          milk     baths     with     orange     peels     and     flower     petals     ,     overcast     skies     teasing     rain     ,     whiskey     and     coke     ,     receiving     gifts     and     praise

dislikes          :          taking     orders     from     those     deemed     less     than     her     ,     religion     ,     being     threatened     or     challenged     ,     sacrificing     fashion     for     warmth

case     file          :          stafford     ,     delphine          there’s     something     off     about     that     girl     .     borderline

associations          :          wild     flowers     wilting     in     a     cracked     vase     ;     dry     petals     at     the     base     .     a     nightgown     torn     as     barefeet     trek     through     an     unforgiving     forest     —     thorns     catching     at     satin     and     lace     .     nosebleeds     after     a     moment     of     acute     stillness     ,     static     loud    where     it     hums     in    your     head     and     then     ,     suddenly     ,     quiet     .

1951     ,     france          any     little     shock     could     push     her     right     over     the     edge

memoir          :          old     money     ,     silver     spoon     to     quiet     bird     song     cries     to     the     tune     of     begging     for     love     ,     to     be     seen     .     striking     hands     and     wicked     tongues     .     neighbour’s     whispers     quelled     by     forced     smiles     and     chaste     family     portraits     .     made     to     be     docile     ,     seen     and     never     heard     .     fifteen     and     clinging     to     girlhood     ,     tabloids     racing     to     cover     the     story     :     grisly     home     murder     ,     young     daughter     only     survivor     .     when     they     ask     ,     she     cannot     say     what     happened     —     memory     thick     and     foggy     ,     blood     -     scented     ,     tasting     of     ash     .     distant     relatives     a     new     home     and     she’s     safe     now     ;     save     for     the     blackouts     ,     coming     to     and     finding     blood     that     is     not     her     own     .

full   name          :          delphine     ried     stafford

nicknames          :          dels

birthdate          :          july     5

hometown          :          nice     ,     france

current   location          :          sacred     heart     academy      ,      wales

languages   spoken          :          french     ,     english

distinguishing   features          :          a     shy     smile     almost     always     hidden     away

physical   ailments          :          n/a

neurological   conditions          :          dissociation

positive          :          seraphic     ,     stoic

negative          :          diffident     ,     heterotelic

fears          :          becoming     as     her     parents     were

aspirations          :          raise     a     family     and     give     them     the     world

likes          :          the     smell     of     ocean     air     ,     anything     chocolate     with     a     special     reverence     for     croissants     ,     art     nouveau     ,     tchaikovsky’s     valse     sentimentale

dislikes          :          regressing     into     a     self     she     doesn’t     recognize     ,     having     her     picture     taken     ,     unnecessary     cruelty     ,     whipped     cream     in     beverages

[fuyonggu]

The Romance Continued, Chapter 1

Who doesn’t appreciate a good fanfiction?

This text, Continued Romance of the Three Kingdoms, was written in 1609, almost three hundred years after the original novel. Its author went by the pen name The Unauthorized Historian of Xiyang of Western Shu; their real name is unknown. It continues the story of the Romance, beginning with the fall of Shu-Han and continuing into the Jin era, and it assumes that its reader is familiar with the Romance already. The basic premise is something along the lines of “what if most of the people who brought down Western Jin were actually descendants of people from Shu-Han?” It goes without saying that you shouldn’t expect too much historical accuracy here beyond the broad strokes.

One thing to know is that this is a long novel, clocking in at 145 chapters (making it longer than the Romance’s 120 chapters). Ironically, the work was never finished; the end of the 145th chapter states that the text up to that point was only the first half, and that the second half (either never written or lost) would finish the story.

I don’t know how often I’ll post chapters from this. This is just something fun for now. But there might be more?

後主降英雄避亂

Chapter 1 -- The Later Lord Surrenders, Young Heroes Flee The Chaos

蓋聞天開於子，地闢於丑，人生於寅。自人之生，而有聖人繼天立極以維人紀，上自三皇，中及五帝，下至商湯文武，迭相為治。當是時也，純用禮樂，行一不義、殺一不辜而得天下，所不為也。孔子曰："三分天下有其二，以服事殷，周之德，可謂至德也已矣。"宜其延世三十，歷年八百，後世鮮及焉。迨至戰國，亡王用霸，日尋干戈，壞亂已極矣。秦用商鞅之法，尚戰功，忽禮樂，雖然得志一時，幸吞六國，而享祚不長，傳世惟二，孰謂天道微藐之不足信，禮樂教化之不足用哉？漢高之興，能變秦律，立法三章，天下歸心，隨滅秦楚。雖然厄於強臣佞戚，光武卒能繼述，垂統綿長，不亦宜乎！及於三國之際，炎精將涸，吳魏分崩，所賴薦生玄德，足稱令主。至窮不背於仁，百敗不折其志，天生賢哲為之羽翼。雖雲立國一隅，而實君臣一德。以弱為強，六徵九伐，敵畏若虎，足為一時之偉稱也。奈何營中星殞，丞相云亡，遂使奸雄得志，千載於今，人心痛忿。幸而天道尚存，假手苗裔夷凶翦暴，使漢祀複興，炎劉紹立。要惟卯金餘德未艾，禮樂未廢，人心向慕之至也歟！

In the beginning, the heavens stretched into being, the earth took form, and mankind arose. Ever since the dawn of humanity, there have been wise rulers who have inherited the legacy of Heaven, stood atop the pinnacle, and directed the affairs of the people. In distant antiquity ruled the Three Emperors. Then came the Five Sovereigns. And after them were Tang of Shang and Kings Wen and Wu of Zhou. Each of these passed on the administration of the realm. During these ages, sovereigns were pure and conducted themselves with propriety and ritual. There was never an instance of someone who gained the realm by acting unrighteously or killing the innocent. Thus Confucius could state, "King Wen of Zhou possessed two thirds of the empire, yet with those he still served the dynasty of Yin (Shang). The virtue of the house of Zhou may be said to have reached the highest point indeed." And the house of Zhou indeed ruled for thirty reigns and eight centuries; never has there been another to equal them.

By the time of the Warring States, the royal sway had fallen into decline and the Hegemons ruled the realm; every day saw bloody battle, and the destruction and turmoil were absolute. The state of Qin, following the policies of Shang Yang, achieved military dominance. But they cared nothing for propriety or ritual, and though they achieved their ambitions for a time by swallowing up the other Six States, they did not enjoy a long legacy, and perished after only two reigns. Who then can claim that the ways of Heaven ought to be slighted and belittled, or that the education and culture provided by ritual and ceremony can be ignored?

When Gaozu of Han (Liu Bang) established the Han dynasty, he was able to transform the canons of Qin, and he established the laws in three articles. He won the hearts of the realm, who helped him to vanquish the Qin dynasty and the rival state of Chu. And though at times the house of Han fell prey to the dominance of its ministers and the flattery of its relatives, in the end, Emperor Guangwu was able to continue the succession. He propagated its rule and inherited its legacy; well that it was so!

When the realm split into the Three Kingdoms and the states of Wu and Wei tore the land asunder, the flame of the dynasty was nearly snuffed out. Yet even so, it could still depend upon the efforts of that devoted fellow, Xuande, who was worthy to be called its lord. Even when driven to his lowest points, he never abandoned his benevolence; even when defeated for the hundredth time, he never gave up his ambition. Heaven itself provided him with worthy and talented people to serve as his wings. And though he established his state in a corner of the realm, truly both he and his subjects displayed the selfsame virtue. Six times he mustered his armies for war, nine times he campaigned against the foe. His enemies feared him like a tiger. Worthy was he to be acclaimed as a talent of the age.

Alas, that Xuande's star should fall while he was in the midst of his camps, and that the Prime Minister (Zhuge Liang) too should expire. Their deaths allowed the wicked villains to attain their evil desires. Even a thousand years later, our hearts still rend with pain at the thought. But how fortunate, then, that Heaven was not finished with the house of Han, and it allowed their descendants to slay the cruel and smite the wicked. They restored the fortunes of Han and revived the flame of the Liu clan. The lingering virtue of their house had not been extinguished; the rites and ceremonies of the dynasty had not yet fallen. And our hearts beat with admiration for them!

且說蜀主劉禪自癸巳登位，賴孔明當國，安享四十餘季。丞相既亡，至炎興元年，其中寵用宦官黃皓，致先世文武大臣關、張、黃、馬、趙諸勛舊子孫皆不得干預軍事，或退閒，或致仕，於是國勢浸衰，兵威不振。魏司馬昭聞知，議欲伐之。當有王祥一門，常懷漢德，因上疏阻之云："蜀土雖狹，民感其惠，君臣義睦，無隙可乘。況今歲星在蜀，伐之恐致不祥。"昭不聽，乃命鄧艾領兵五萬，自狄道越甘松嶺出沓中，以絆姜維之師；諸葛緒引兵五萬，自祁山趨武街橋頭，以絕姜維歸路；鐘會引兵十五萬，從斜谷、子午谷分作三路而進，以趨漢中。細作報入沓中，大將軍都督軍事姜維急修表馳奏後主。後主即命蔣舒、傅僉領兵二萬，分守陽平等關要隘，更欲大發兵以助姜維。時黃皓用事，深恨姜維常欲除己，今若發兵助勢，敵退爵尊，我必受虧，隨阻於帝曰："臣曾探得魏主深疑司馬，司馬自救不暇，焉能謀人？此來風聞乃懼我兵見加，故為虛張聲勢耳。"又引巫師詐誕，以聾帝聽，以是帝遂不為設備，罷其預守之議，群臣皆不知姜維上表請兵之故。八月，魏軍長驅大進。姜維聞鐘會兵至，乃與廖化、張翼等合議扼守劍閣以拒之。鐘會引兵攻打，被維出奇兵斷會糧道，前後身自挑戰凡數十合，互有勝敗。會亦慮糧運險遠，急未能得志，隨退兵安營相守。忽探得姜維有襲糧之兵出矣，會心甚懼，即欲退回長安，再圖後舉。

But us set the scene. The lord of Shu, Liu Shan, had risen to the throne in the Guimao year (223). And thanks to the supervision of Kongming over the state of Shu, Liu Shan had enjoyed a peaceful reign for more than forty years. But by now, the Prime Minister had died, and it was the first year of Yanxing (263). Liu Shan favored the eunuch Huang Hao and entrusted him with affairs, while the descendants of those great civil and martial servants of his father's age, the families of Guan, Zhang, Huang, Ma, and Zhao, were no longer granted any part in either the army or in government. Some of these scions lived in obscurity, while others held minor posts. But the state had fallen into decline and decay, and the morale of the soldiers had sunk too low to be revived.

When Sima Zhao of the state of Wei heard that such a state of affairs prevailed in Shu, he held a discussion among his subordinates, proposing a campaign to conquer Shu. Among these men was a certain Wang Xiang, who had always cherished the virtues of the Han dynasty. Thus he sent up a petition opposing the proposed expedition. He stated, "Although the territory of Shu is a cramped place, the people there venerate the kindness of their lord, and the relationship between its sovereign and his subjects is proper and harmonious. There is no internal dissension within the state which we could take advantage of. Besides, the Year Star (Jupiter) is currently hanging over Shu. It is well-known that no state which is enjoying the protection of the Year Star can be attacked. Thus to campaign against Shu would only invite misfortune upon us."

However, Sima Zhao did not listen to the pleas of Wang Xiang. Being determined upon the campaign, he devised a strategy for his armies to destroy the rival state. He would order the general Deng Ai to lead fifty thousand soldiers from Didao to cross the Gansong mountain ranges and enter Tazhong, where he could keep the army of Shu's Grand Commander, Jiang Wei, occupied. At the same time, he would order the general Zhuge Xu to lead another fifty thousand soldiers from Qishan to cross the bridgehead at Wujie and cut off Jiang Wei's route of escape. While these operations were taking place, Sima Zhao would send the main army of a hundred and fifty thousand under the general Zhong Hui to advance along three roads through Xie Valley and Ziwu Valley and capture the Shu bastion at Hanzhong.

Word of the planned Wei operations made their way to Jiang Wei at his base at Tazhong. He wrote a petition informing Liu Shan of the situation and dispatched a messenger at once to bring it to the capital. Liu Shan thus ordered the generals Jiang Shu and Fu Qian to lead twenty thousand soldiers to form garrisons to guard Yangping and other strategic places. 

Liu Shan even planned to mobilize the full manpower of the state to reinforce Jiang Wei's army. But Huang Hao, who monopolized power at the capital, deeply hated Jiang Wei and had often wanted to get rid of him. He was worried that, if such a mobilization proved critical to letting Jiang Wei drive away the invaders, then Jiang Wei would surely be rewarded and honored while his own influence would diminish. Thus he opposed this mustering of troops, telling Liu Shan, "I have always heard that the ruler of Wei has been most suspicious of the Sima clan. The Sima clan must be entirely focused on securing their own position in Wei; how could they have a free hand to plot against us as well? If we panic in the face of this rumor and thus bolster Jiang Wei's ranks, we will only augment his power for no purpose." And he also brought in some shamans to perform a false ritual, and they deceived Liu Shan. Thus Liu Shan canceled his drafting preparations and dropped all discussion of reinforcing the defences of the state. None of his ministers ever realized that Jiang Wei had submitted this petition asking for reinforcements.

In the eighth month of that year, the Wei armies surged forward, advancing far into the state. When Jiang Wei heard that Zhong Hui's troops were on their way, he held a discussion with Liao Hua, Zhang Yi, and the other generals. They resolved to man the defenses at Jiange Pass and hold out against the enemy. When Zhong Hui's army arrived at Jiange, they launched an assault. But Jiang Wei devised a plan which allowed special troops to sever Zhong Hui's supply lines, and he also personally dueled enemies for dozens of bouts during the fighting. Each side had their share of victories and defeats. Zhong Hui was worried about keeping his troops provisioned over so far a distance and across such rough terrain, and he had his troops fall back to prepared camps to maintain their position. But when Jiang Wei's special troops continued to appear in his rear and launch surprise attacks against Zhong Hui's supply lines, Zhong Hui's heart failed him. He was resolved to fall back to Chang'an, then wait for some later time to plan another campaign.

鄧艾聞知，以書抵會曰："竊窺蜀國無能為也。蓋由宦豎專權，忠良解體，縱一姜維之智，亦不能驅眾遠出，不過虛為聲勢以分我軍，彼得以逸待勞耳。將軍但當堅守，待小將父子引本部兵，從陰平邪徑，經德陽亭，出劍閣之背，西去成都，不過三百里，以奇兵出其不意，衝其腹心。姜維知之，必撤劍閣之兵，還救涪城，都督則可方軌而進矣，何退之有哉？如劍閣兵不回，涪城無救，取之甚易。姜維前後受敵，必為公擒，此不待智者可知也。"艾竟不俟約期，即引兵行無人之徑七百餘里，鑿山通道，極其險處，艾則自裹以氈，推墮而下，將士扳援魚貫以進。至江油城，蜀將蔣舒以城降，傅僉戰死，隨逾陰平。

When Deng Ai learned that Zhong Hui's resolve had begun to waver, he sent him a letter criticizing him. He wrote, "Shu is an exhausted state, unable to accomplish anything. Its affairs are in the hands of a pathetic eunuch, and its loyal and good servants can do nothing. It is thanks to Jiang Wei's cunning alone that they are able to resist at all. But they lack the ability to move their forces about or march long distances. They can do no more than make threatening noises sufficient to cause us to divide our forces, allowing them to safely receive the brunt of a reduced attack.

"General, you need but hold firm and maintain your position. Allow my humble self and my son to lead the soldiers of my command to march through the badlands at Yinping, pass by Deyang Point, and emerge from behind Jiange Pass. From there, it will be no more than three hundred li west to the enemy capital at Chengdu; we can seize it by surprise and occupy the very heart of the enemy's country. Once Jiang Wei learns of it, he will surely bring his troops at Jiange to hurry to hold Fucheng against me, and you can then simply follow in his wake. Why then would you need to retreat? Or if the soldiers at Jiange do not turn back towards the capital, Fucheng will be defenseless and extremely easy to take. Jiang Wei will be surrounded by enemies on both sides, and he would doubtlessly fall into your hands. It would not take a genius to recognize that."

Without waiting for a response, Deng Ai at once led his troops along his proposed route. They traveled through more than seven hundred li of uninhabited land, carving through mountains and clearing roads as they went. When the road suddenly ended in a cliff, Deng Ai had himself wrapped in felt and personally rolled down the cliff, and his generals and soldiers then fashioned a fish-scale rope to descend the precipice. When they arrived at the city of Jiangyou at the far end of the road, the Shu generals Jiang Shu and Fu Qian were waiting for them. But Jiang Shu surrendered, and Fu Qian perished in battle. Deng Ai's troops then advanced to Yinping.

忽於岩畔見一石牌，上題："二火初興，有人越此，二士爭衡，不久自死。"艾探知乃諸葛孔明先設示警者。艾因大驚，遂訪孔明之墓，躬備儀禮拜祭，以求赦宥。是夜乃夢二力士，稱元運真君有召命，艾方猶豫，二士夾之而去。須臾至一處，殿閣崢嶸，光曜顯赫，力士引艾至內門。仰觀殿上，執事羅列，整肅森嚴。少頃，真君出御曰："吾即孔明耳。往時謫降人世，目擊曹瞞、馬懿並無仁德，惟務奸偽，欺上惑下，竊據土宇。吾曾奏聞上帝，削其國籍。劉漢二十六君，守道育民，初無失德，宜使其裔興漢複祀。其餘附奸凶忍之徒，悉填憲典，即目劉主迎降，乃保眾惜民之仁。爾兵進城，若不約束，大禍旋至，可宜知改。"諭畢，命力士引還。後來鄧艾忘戒縱暴，父子遭戮，鐘會亦坐誅夷，魏晉國祚不永，劉氏繼立，漢祀複存，皆如夢中之語。艾既覺悟，神思惑亂，按兵遲回者數日。鄧忠等進曰："大人深明理道，何不察妖幻者邪術也？是不脫王郎假妻為神，以阻光武之故智耳！何因一夢，隨阻軍心？正中其術矣。"艾隨釋疑，引兵而起，進至綿竹。飛報入成都，後主大驚失措，慌議出師，群臣無敢應諾者。

As Deng Ai's troops were marching along the side of a cliff, Deng Ai suddenly saw a stone stele. Upon it was written these words: "Two fires arise; men pass by here. Two commanders compete; both will soon perish." Deng Ai realized that Zhuge Kongming must have earlier placed the stele here as a warning to him. Greatly frightened by the omen, Deng Ai went to visit the grave of Kongming, and he personally conducted the rites to offer a sacrifice to the spirit of Kongming, hoping to win his pardon and forgiveness.

That night, Deng Ai saw two strong men in his dreams, who said that they had been ordered by the Steadfast Lord to fetch him. Before Deng Ai realized it, the two strong men had grabbed him, and they took him with them. The three of them soon arrived at a magnificent residence; its halls and pavilions were lofty and towering, and it shone with a glorious luster. The strong men brought Deng Ai through the gates of the residence. Deng Ai looked up to gaze at the hall, and he saw that everything was laid out meticulously and in strict order, with everything in its proper place. 

The Steadfast Lord soon appeared to receive Deng Ai. He told him, "I am none other than Kongming. In life, when I walked the world below, I saw with my own eyes how Cao Man (Cao Cao) and Sima Yi were both lacking in benevolence or virtue, caring only for wickedness and cunning. They deceived their sovereigns above and beguiled the people below, seeking covetously how they might take the land for themselves. But I have heard the wishes of the Supreme God above, and I know how he has laid out the fates of dynasties. Through the twenty-six rulers of the Liu clan of Han, they have held fast to principle and nurtured the people. Never since the beginning have they abandoned their virtue. Thus it shall be that their descendants shall restore the fortunes of Han. Only for the moment shall the minions of the cruel and wicked villains be suffered to hold the laws in their hands. I have foreseen that Lord Liu shall surrender to you, for in his benevolence he wishes to protect the masses and spare the people from suffering. When you advance to the capital, unless you restrain yourself, disaster will overtake you as well. I have informed you so that you might reform yourself." Having finished speaking, he ordered the strong men to take Deng Ai away again.

Alas for Deng Ai, that he later forgot this warning and set loose his soldiers to pillage; father and son both suffered a grisly end. So too did Zhong Hui suffer execution. Nor did the fortunes of Wei or Jin long endure either. For the Liu clan was able to restore itself and the Han dynasty once again flourished, just as this dream had foretold.

When Deng Ai awoke from the dream, his thoughts were troubled by what the spirit had told him, and for several days he kept his troops back and would not advance. Then his son Deng Zhong and the other generals stepped forward and said, "Sir, you have always been wise and clear-sighted. Don't you see this is some sorcery that has taken hold of you? This is no different from when Wang Lang heeded the spirit of his wife and opposed Emperor Guangwu, to his ruin! Why should you burden the hearts of the army all for the sake of a dream? You must see through this craft." Deng Ai thus set aside his doubts and put his troops in order, and they advanced to Mianzhu.

When word arrived in Chengdu that Deng Ai's army was close at hand, Liu Shan was so shocked that he was at a loss. He hastily summoned a council to discuss sending out an army to oppose Deng Ai. But none of the assembled ministers dared to volunteer to lead it.

諸葛瞻急入，大慟曰："國家養兵育士，正在今日之用，何無一人應命？皆由陛下寵用黃皓，以至於此。今事已危急，臣雖不才，願拼微軀，上報陛下，下慰父心。"帝即付以禁兵二萬。瞻至綿竹，與鄧艾兵遇。安營已畢，召子諸葛尚議曰："吾兵屢敗，銳氣已喪，須以奇計取勝。若韓信背水，庶可為力於眾也。"尚曰："大人之見甚善。彼兵屢勝，志必驕惰。若能三軍致死，勝之極易耳。"次日，兩軍方合，瞻即揮退，艾即逼追至港次。諸葛尚大呼曰："前臨溪港，後有追鋒，若諸軍不拼死鬥，則盡無生矣。"以是三軍回身死鬥，艾兵大敗。瞻亦不敢深追。鄧艾收兵，責眾不盡力。忠曰："一人舍死，百夫莫敵，況勝敗兵家之常，安足為責？以子之見，諸葛終非父比，趁今夜彼方得勝，必不提防，一去劫營，必收大功。"艾曰："謀人之所不謀，正此之謂也。"即命忠在前，自為策應，三軍盡起，望瞻寨殺來。是夜，瞻父子果不提備，為忠斫營而入，諸軍俱在睡中，人不及甲，馬不及鞍，諸葛瞻乃嘆曰："天不佑漢人，其如何？"隨與子尚俱戰死於陣。可憐忠義兒，罹此殺身慘。所謂綿竹之戰，見孔明之有子也。敗兵逃回者入城奏知後主，計無所出。或曰急召姜都督回救，或曰棄城奔白帝城，入吳求救。眾議紛紛不定。

Then in rushed Zhuge Zhan, the son of Zhuge Liang. In a voice full of grief, he lamented, "The state has raised its soldiers and trained its officers for just such a day as this. How is it then that none of you will take up the call? It is all because Your Majesty has favored and employed Huang Hao that things have come to this. But though the emergency is already so great, and I have no talents to speak of, still I am willing to take the command and oppose the foe. Thus I may repay Your Majesty above and soothe the heart of my late father below." Liu Shan thus assigned Zhuge Zhan twenty thousand soldiers from the palace guards.

When Zhuge Zhan's forces arrived at Mianzhu, they encountered Deng Ai's army. Once the camp was complete for the day, Zhuge Zhan summoned his own son, Zhuge Shang, and discussed the situation with him. "Since our soldiers have suffered several defeats and their spirits have sunk low," said Zhuge Zhan, "we must rely on a special plan to gain a victory. We shall have to follow the example of Han Xin of old, and post our soldiers with their backs to the river. Then our men will fight with all their strength to defeat the enemy."

"You see things all too well, Father," said Zhuge Shang. "And the enemy, after having won several victories, will have also grown complacent and remiss. Thus if we can compel our soldiers to fight to the death, it will be quite easy to triumph."

The next day, just as the two armies were about to clash, Zhuge Zhan began to have his men fall back. Deng Ai led his own army in pursuit, pressing Zhuge Zhan's soldiers as far as a nearby river landing. Zhuge Shang then called out to the soldiers, "Before you is the flowing river; behind you is the enemy in hot pursuit. Unless you fight for your very lives, not one of you will survive." The Shu soldiers then turned and plunged into battle, fighting for dear life, and Deng Ai's army was greatly defeated.

Zhuge Zhan did not dare to press the pursuit too closely. Thus Deng Ai was eventually able to gather up his scattered soldiers again. He reproached his troops for not fighting with their full strength. But Deng Zhong said to him, "A man driven to the brink of death can overcome even a hundred opponents. Besides, victory and defeat are the common lot of any army. Why should you reproach them? As I see it, Zhuge Zhan is not the equal of his father. He has seized upon a momentary advantage to snatch a victory, but now his troops will be flush with their triumph, and they will surely not have prepared any defenses against us. If we march immediately and strike their camp at once, we will win a great achievement." 

Deng Ai remarked, "The schemer does not account for schemes, as they say." So he ordered Deng Zhong to lead the vanguard, while he held overall command. His army advanced at once, determined to see Zhuge Zhan dead.

That night, Zhuge Zhan and Zhuge Shang had indeed failed to prepare their defenses. Deng Zhong was thus able to break into their camp, where he found the Shu soldiers in the midst of sleep. They did not even have time to put on armor or place bridles on their horses before being overrun. Zhuge Zhan wailed, "Can it be that Heaven does not aid the servants of Han?" He and his son rushed into the battle, where both died in the fighting. 

What a pity, that such a loyal and righteous son should meet with such a tragic fate. But we can see from his victory at Mianzhu that he was truly Kongming's son.

Some of the soldiers who had fled from the night attack returned to Chengdu, and Liu Shan was thus informed of Zhuge Zhan's fate. He did not know what to do. Some of his ministers advised him to immediately summon Jiang Wei back to save the capital, while others advised him to abandon the city and flee to Baidicheng, where he could seek aid from the state of Wu. Arguments flared back and forth, and no one could decide what should be done.

太史令譙周曰："大將軍拒鐘會，其兵不可抽，抽則兩失。東吳非好相識，且艾兵已近郊，若知陛下出，縱輕騎追之，亦恐不能脫，皆非善策耳。臣觀乾象，見國數已衰，賊氣方盛，客星犯闕，主星韜光，戰則無益，不如出降。上可救全城百姓之命，下可以保全九族，乃應天順時之舉，非臣不忠，敢陷陛下為屈膝事也。"後主惑其言，乃議出降。鄧艾因頓兵城下。當有帝之第三子北地王劉諶知之，急入阻曰："誰獻此計，誤陛下為萬世何如主？況城中尚有十萬之眾，當率之或戰或守，敵兵何能即入？彼兵遠來，野無所虜，糧草不接濟，但能堅守一月，全軍皆沒城下矣。且姜維諸將在外，安得無計？獻此計者，不但誤陛下，誠可斬也！設使勢窮力竭，猶當父子背城一戰，何至含垢忍恥以圖苟活，何以見先帝於地下耶？"帝曰："爾小兒何知國計？可速去。"

Then the Prefect of the Astrologers Bureau, Qiao Zhou, offered his thoughts. "The Grand General is busy opposing Zhong Hui," he said, "and his army cannot break off from that struggle; if they did so, they could neither defeat Deng Ai nor Zhong Hui. As for Wu, they are no good friends of ours. Besides, Deng Ai's army is already so close to the outskirts of the city that even if His Majesty tried to flee, Deng Ai could send light cavalry to pursue him, and I fear he would never escape. So that is not a suitable plan either. 

“As for me, I have seen the signs and omens and recognized in them the steady decline of the state. The stars are abundant in the quadrant of the sky symbolizing the enemy, while wayward stars have violated our own quadrant and the luster of our chief star has grown dim. It would do you no good to risk a battle. Better to go out and surrender at once. By doing so, our sovereign may ensure the lives of all those within the city, and we may protect the lives of our own families and clans. It is time to heed the will of Heaven and the sign of the times. Though I am not disloyal, still I must dare to propose that Your Majesty bend the knee."

Liu Shan was beguiled by Qiao Zhou's words, and he proposed going out to surrender. Deng Ai thus halted his troops and waited outside the walls of the city.

When Shu's Prince of Beidi, Liu Shan's third son Liu Chen, learned what was about to happen, he rushed into court to oppose the planned surrender. "Who has proposed this idea and thus led Your Majesty astray?" he cried. "Shall you let future generations wonder at your actions? Besides, there are still a hundred thousand soldiers within the city. We could easily have some of them go out to fight while the others remain to defend the city. Then how could the enemy ever break inside? The enemy army has traveled a great distance, and there is no food in the fields for them to forage, nor provisions in store to keep them supplied. We need only defend the city for a month before their whole army wastes away beneath our walls. And Jiang Wei and the other generals are still in the field; can they really do nothing to help us? 

“Bring forth this person who has proposed that you surrender, for not only has he misled you, he ought to be beheaded! At the very least, we should do our utmost and exert every effort by risking a final battle, fathers and sons together with our backs to the city! How could you swallow such disgrace and endure such shame merely in order to save your own lives? How will you be able to face His Late Majesty in the world below?"

But Liu Shan told him, "What does a brat like you know of affairs of state? Begone at once."

北地王知帝存婦人之仁，執性不回，乃將幼子托劉璩撫育，隨哭入昭烈之廟，先殺其妻，乃自刎。劉璩者，梁王劉理之子也。在諸王之內，號稱智囊，且機警有權略，比時亦欲進議，因見劉諶之死，知帝執迷，不可以舌諍也。方哭念劉諶間，有劉封次子劉靈入省，璩曰："今國勢如此，奈何？"靈曰："惟應與吾兄劉宣等商議，全身遠害，豈宜束手待斃，行奴顏婢膝事乎？"劉璩曰："某亦為此而思度，非宣兄莫可與計者。"靈即馳請宣至。璩曰："大廈將崩，一木難扶，城若一破，玉石俱焚。��輩計將安出？"宣曰："吾弟才略勝我百倍，必有定見。以愚諒之，帝意不可轉，國事不可支，明矣。為今之計，惟有逃避遐方，審機諒勢，或圖興複，此為上也。若還居此遲回，必遭大辱。"璩曰："兄計深與我合。"言未畢，又有一人自外而入，呼曰："劉子通在否？"劉靈忙出迎候，乃楊儀之子楊龍也。龍曰："適到尊府訪議，云兄到此，是以隨亦來會。正欲見殿下呈鄙見耳。"於是同入見璩等，乃曰："龍本不識時務之人，因思先父曾言諸葛丞相臨終，惟先父在側，囑以後事。言劉氏此複中衰，越三十年後，當有英主再出，複興漢業，重定中原。臣父對臣言之，謹記不忘，將謂國家尚有一統之日，不意事勢若此。主上惑於譙周之說，必不可移矣。臣觀七殿下相貌不凡，神異種種，將來主大器者，必殿下也。夫智者見於未萌，豈待已著乎？申生止而待死，重耳逃而複伯。此已往之明鑒也。吾輩願從殿下周游，萬死而不辭。"言未畢，有一勇士自外披襟而入，大叫曰："汝眾尚不逃走，是欲自送死耶？"眾視之，乃梁府護衛親兵總領秦州狄道人齊萬年也。

Liu Chen recognized that Liu Shan had only the kindly nature of a woman, and he was stubborn in his decision and would not be swayed. So Liu Chen first entrusted the care of his young son Liu Yao to his cousin Liu Qu to raise as his own. Then, wailing as he entered the ancestral temple of Emperor Zhaolie (Liu Bei), he killed his wife and then cut his own throat.

This Liu Qu was the son of the Prince of Liang, Liu Li. Among the princes of the royal family, he had gained a name for himself as a clever and intelligent young man, and he was quick-witted and had a calculating mind. He too had been planning to offer his thoughts in the recent discussion. But when he saw how Liu Chen had been driven to death, he knew that Liu Shan would not change his mind and rhetoric would not do any good.

Liu Qu was weeping as he thought of Liu Chen's demise, when Liu Ling came into his residence; this Liu Ling was the second son of Liu Bei's adopted son Liu Feng. Liu Qu said to him, "The state has been driven to such dire straits. What are we to do?"

Liu Ling told him, "Why not discuss things with your elder brother Liu Xuan and the others? We might preserve ourselves and stave off danger. Why should we sit here with folded hands and await disaster, or else submit to becoming slaves and bending the knee?"

Liu Qu replied, "I had just been thinking the same thing. Liu Xuan is the only one who can tell us what we should do."

Liu Ling thus quickly sent word asking Liu Xuan to join them. When Liu Xuan arrived, Liu Qu told him, "The trunk is about to fall, and the branches can hardly survive; the city is about to be taken, and the jade will be smashed alongside the stones. Elder Brother, can you think of nothing for us to do?"

Liu Xuan replied, "Younger Brother, you are a hundred times as talented and clever as I am, and you will surely be able to think of something. But in my own humble view, it seems clear that the Emperor's intention cannot be changed and the state can no longer be saved. Thus all I can suggest is that you run away and seek refuge in some distant place, then muster your strength while watching for some opportunity. By doing so, you may find some chance to revive the state. That would be the best plan. But if you stay here and linger any longer, you too will have to suffer the great disgrace of surrendering."

Liu Qu said, "Elder Brother, that is exactly what I was thinking."

He had not yet finished speaking when another man approached the residence, calling out, "Is Liu Zitong here?" Liu Ling quickly hurried out to see who the new arrival was, and discovered that it was Yang Yi's son Yang Long. "I was just about to attend the council," Yang Long said, "when they told me that you were here, so I came to find you. I only hope that His Highness will be willing to see me."

They both went back inside to rejoin Liu Qu and Liu Xuan. Yang Long told Liu Qu, "The reason that I had never taken up office is because I have always been thinking of the words that my father once heard from Prime Minister Zhuge on his deathbed. Back then, my father was the only one by his side, and he was asking the Prime Minister about his last will. The Prime Minister told him that although the Liu clan would fall into decline, thirty years after that time, a bold hero would emerge to restore the endeavor of the Han dynasty and reconquer the Central Plains. My father told this to me and instructed me to be sure never to forget it, saying that such a day for the state was sure to come. Only I never thought that things would come to this. 

"Now our sovereign has been led astray by the words of Qiao Zhou, and he surely cannot be moved. I have studied the appearances of the other seven princes of the royal family, but none of them measure up. The only one who seems to have a remarkable appearance and has the makings of a grand leader is Your Highness.

"A wise man recognizes what is going to happen long before the event comes to pass. Why then do you linger here? Do not forget the fates of the sons of Duke Xian of Jin; Shensheng remained at home and so met with death, while Chong'er fled and reclaimed his inheritance in the end. These are clear examples for Your Highness to heed. As for me, I am willing to follow Your Highness wherever you go, and I would not complain even if I suffered ten thousand deaths."

Yang Long had hardly finished speaking when some bold fellow strode into the room, shaking out his sleeves as he roared, "Why haven't you people run away yet? Are you so eager to die?" Everyone turned to look, and they recognized him as a troop leader of the soldiers from the Liang garrison, Qi Wannian from Didao county in Qinzhou.

劉璩乃拉萬年手曰："吾知欲脫此虎阱，非將軍不能周旋，奈何尚有一大關系，須累將軍保扶之。昨北地王死於社稷，天地為之悲慘。又將幼子劉曜托我撫育，以為我必不負托者。我輩仗威力，或可幸全，是兒方在襁褓，為之奈何？若此兒不得出，我亦無棄行之理。"言訖，淚下如雨。萬年言曰："殿下親子在外監軍，尚不言及，而拳拳以托侄，立相與存亡之誓，真仁人之設心也。他日必為萬民之主，不卜可知矣。"蓋璩之長子聰，生而有神力，善於弓馬，因此後主命之監助姜維之軍。姜維每資其力，倚重之，故嘗留於其軍。萬年乃曰："臣敢不體殿下之心以報北地王之忠？但只身恐不能兩全。臣有契友廖全者，真勇士也，兼之義俠逾常，乃平西將軍廖化之子也。每欲從徵為國家出力，渠父惜惟一子，留家不遣，因與臣較藝，隨為刎頸之交。臣當前去約彼至此，將曜主縛於其背，臣則向前開路，誓當死戰以報國恩。但須急速，毋致遲誤。"眾曰："永齡真義勇丈夫也，速宜馳之。"萬年即偕廖全至，劉靈、楊龍等皆會。萬年即手持大刀，當先開路，廖全負劉曜挺槍次隨。劉英、劉宣保護各家眷屬居中，璩與劉靈、劉和等斷後，一齊俱望西門而出。當有魏將方來引兵攔阻去路，曰："吾觀汝輩皆仕宦裝束，且汝主既降，則盡是魏民，吾主方事招徠，何用逃竄？"萬年更不開言，怒眸若電，就輪起大刀劈面斫去。方來亦挺槍相迎。論方來豈萬年之敵乎？但賊兵眾多，又要保衛眷屬，惟衝擊而已。萬年乃殺條血路而出，廖全奮勇挾斗，人不敢追，擁衛眾人以出敵圍。方來不舍，從後引兵追來。萬年曰："賊徒不知死活，尚敢來追，不斬之無以見英雄。"乃隨勒轉馬迎之，未及二合，將方來手起一刀斬之。眾魏兵見如此利害，那個敢來追？各自奔散。正是：他年開國興基手，先向成都顯首功。

Liu Qu took Qi Wannian by the hand and said, "I know all too well that I ought to escape from this tiger's trap. But without your assistance, General, I cannot do so. I have been entrusted with a new ward, and I shall have to depend upon you to defend him. Yesterday, the Prince of Beidi died before the altars of state, and Heaven and Earth grieved and mourned for him. He entrusted me with the care of his young son, Liu Yao, to nurture and raise, for he knew that I would never shirk such a duty. Yet though by my own strength alone I might be able to preserve my life, how could I ever protect this mere infant, still in his swaddling clothes? He would never be able to escape, yet I would not abandon him." And as he spoke, his tears flowed like rain.

Qi Wannian said, "Your Highness has a grown son who is away with the army. Yet rather than speak of him, you show so much concern about this nephew that you even pledge that you shall live and die together? Truly you have the heart of a benevolent man. This very day, I recognize you as my master; who could have guessed it?"

This son was Liu Qu's eldest son Liu Cong, who had been born with prodigious strength and was a skilled mounted archer. For that reason, Liu Shan had ordered him to assist Jiang Wei's army. Jiang Wei had esteemed his strength and deeply appreciated him, thus he had remained at the frontlines.

Qi Wannian continued, "Would I dare not to honor the wishes of Your Highness's heart or repay your loyalty to the Prince of Beidi? Yet I fear that I alone cannot protect both you and the babe. But I have a sworn friend named Liao Quan, the son of the General Who Pacifies The West, Liao Hua. He is a true warrior, not to mention an uncommonly righteous fellow. He has always wished to exert his strength on behalf of the state, yet since he is an only son, his father has kept him at home and not allowed him to venture forth. He has thus taken the opportunity to test his strength against me, and we have become friends who would live and die together. Allow me to go and fetch him here, and I will have him tie the Young Master to his back, while I clear the way in front. I pledge that we will repay the grace that the state has shown us, in life or in death. But we must move swiftly; to delay further would only be a mistake."

The others all said, "Yongling is indeed a bold and righteous fellow. Quickly bring him here."

So Qi Wannian went to get Liao Quan, and the two of them rejoined Liu Ling, Yang Long, and the princes. Qi Wannian wielded a large blade and went in front to clear the path, while Liao Quan followed behind with a spear in hand and Liu Yao on his back. Liu Ying and Liu Xuan stood in the middle of the group, protecting their family members and dependents. Liu Qu, Liu Ling, Liu He, and others brought up the rear.

The group all fled out of the west gate of the city. But they soon found the road barred by Wei troops under the general Fang Lai, who had occupied that place. He said to them, "I can see that all of you are dressed in the attire of officials. Besides, your lord is going to surrender, so you are all people of Wei now, and our lord is going to take good care of you. Why then should you scurry away?"

Qi Wannian did not bother with words, but, with eyes full of rage like lightning, he hefted his blade to cleave Fang Lai's face in. Fang Lai too brought up his spear, and the two of them traded blows. Now could a man like Fang Lai have ever been a match for Qi Wannian? But the enemy was so numerous, and besides, Qi Wannian had to protect the others as well. So he did no more than charge the enemy and break through, leaving the road filled with blood behind him. Liao Quan too put on a bold display. The enemy did not dare to pursue them, thus they were able to escort the others out of the encirclement. 

Yet Fang Lai would not stand by, and he soon led his troops to chase after them. Qi Wannian said, "These villains don't know the meaning of life and death, to dare to follow after us. Unless I behead this one, they will not recognize my prowess as a hero." So he turned his horse about to face Fang Lai, and before the two of them had gone two bouts, just as Fang Lai was raising his hand, Qi Wannian lopped off his head with one swing of his blade. When the Wei soldiers saw their commander suffer such a grievous wound, who among them would have dared to pursue any further? They all scattered and fled.

Truly it could be said: that year saw the laying of the foundation for the new state, and here was displayed the first achievement in their flight from Chengdu.

卻說鄧艾知得西門廝殺，即令部將褚群引兵助戰，從後殺來。劉璩忙令劉靈抵敵，曰："不殺鼠賊，無以雪胸中之忿。"乃大喝曰："認得劉將軍麼？"褚群忽見劉靈身長一丈，膀闊三停，威風凜凜，大是驚駭，旋勒馬謂曰："汝家國已破，尚欲何往？不降何待？"靈曰："賊奴！汝輩尚可降彼婦人小子，安能降我真將軍耶？"言訖，橫衝而入。褚群亦魏中名將，舉刀急架。鏖戰移時，魏兵合圍而來。靈即心生一計，抽馬佯敗而走。褚群不料，從後急追。靈故勒馬緩行，褚群馬逸不能收步，撞過馬頭，被靈一槍刺中透心，落馬而亡。後兵潰散，不敢複追。正是：巧施阱虎擒龍技，得樹安邦立國勛。

We should mention that, when Deng Ai had learned of the disturbance and slaughter at the west gate, he had dispatched the general Chu Qun to reinforce the garrison there. These reinforcements were now coming around from behind, determined to slaughter the fugitives. Liu Qu hastily ordered Liu Ling to deal with these foes, telling him, "Unless you slay these scurrying bandits, I will not be able to quell the rage in my chest."

Liu Ling stepped forward and announced to the Wei soldiers, "Do you recognize the banner of General Liu?"

Chu Qun suddenly noticed Liu Ling standing before them; he was a man of great height, with broad and powerful shoulders, and the very air around him seemed to chill in a fearsome aura. Chu Qun was greatly astonished. He turned his horse toward Liu Ling and called out, "Your family has already been smashed, so where are you planning to flee to? Why not surrender at once?"

Liu Ling retorted, "Bandits, slaves! Only the women and children of my generation could deign to submit to you. How could I give in and still call myself a general?" And with these words, he charged forward to attack.

Now Chu Qun too was a Wei general of some renown, so he also lifted his blade and rushed to engage his enemy. As they were fighting, the Wei soldiers began to close in around them. Then Liu Ling quickly devised a plan; he pulled on his horse and, pretending to yield the fight, he ran away. Chu Qun, not suspecting that anything was amiss, dashed after him. But Liu Ling suddenly turned his horse about; Chu Qun's horse was unable to react in time, and the two horses collided. Liu Ling seized the opportunity by driving his spear straight into Chu Qun's heart, and Chu Qun toppled dead from his horse. The other pursuit troops all scattered and fled, none daring to chase Liu Ling any further.

Truly it could be said: Through skill and guile one traps the tiger and catches the dragon. Thus was this kinsman of the royal line able to establish an achievement for the state.

卻說劉靈方離家之際，猛憶起王彌乃吾心腹之友，當今無以為匹者，萬一陷於敵中，為彼收用，則失吾國一棟梁矣。忙使人邀到，與之同出。蓋王彌者，乃北地將軍王平之子也。自幼生而穎異，膂力過人，長而有千斤之力。尤精於騎射，每為其父器重之。後乃襲父蔭居職，嘗有開跋之志。因見帝之昏庸，信任黃皓，妨賢拒諫，遂杜門不出，時人尚未之奇，惟劉靈痛父失事遭戮，飲恨不仕，彌乃與之結為異姓兄弟，時與較藝，始知彌之賢於人矣。其後彌與關氏兄弟俱稱時俊，亦相結納。當日得靈之信，乃喟然嘆曰："吾父子早知有今日矣。子通兄既來見召，倘不從命，是無忠義之心而負生平之所學矣。但關家兄弟與我有休戚之托，彼年尚幼，安能自拔？"遂奔至關家。而關防、關謹見說彌至，乃從內大慟而出曰："飛豹兄，當今事勢若此，奈何奈何？"初，關興於青龍元年間從征失利，患病在家，因見國事日非，每嘆說："任奸邪於危難之秋，喪無日矣。吾族安能免哉？"昨見王彌來省，坐論時事，乃太息曰："王子均之有子也，可以托孤寄子矣。"遂囑防、謹深相結納之。王彌曰："國家垂破，而尊府與賊為世仇，禍且不測。吾因劉子通召往偕遁，深念昆玉，故此特來相訊。且欲議為今之計，惟當速避，後與諸公協謀興複，乃為上策。"防曰："兄言甚是，其如家口之計何？"彌曰："大丈夫為國不顧家，況司馬父子方有大志圖篡天下，假仁假義以收攝人心，安肯仇害人之家屬乎？願賢弟放懷以圖大事。"防、謹乃依命同出，竟留家屬在城中，後遭龐德之子龐惠毒手，合家盡罹慘禍，曾無噍類，傷哉！

We should mention that at the moment when Liu Ling had been preparing to depart from his family, he had suddenly remembered his good friend, Wang Mi. Liu Ling had thought to himself, "Wang Mi is no common fellow, and if by some chance he were to fall into the hands of the enemy and be used by them, we would lose a great pillar of our state." So he had dispatched someone to go and inform Wang Mi of his intentions at once, so that Wang Mi might flee as well.

This Wang Mi was the son of the General of Beidi, Wang Ping. He had been remarkable ever since youth; his arm strength surpassed others, such that by the time he was grown, he possessed the strength of a thousand pounds. And he was exceptionally skilled at mounted archery. He had always been deeply appreciated by his father, who recognized his potential. After Wang Ping had passed away and Wang Mi had inherited his offices, Wang Mi had originally had the ambition to make a name for himself. But when he saw that the Emperor was a dull mediocrity who entrusted affairs to Huang Hao, was jealous of worthy people, and ignored criticism, Wang Mi shut the gates of his residence and would not go out. Thus the people of that time had not recognized how remarkable he was. Only Liu Ling knew about him. Liu Ling had been bitter at how his father Liu Feng had been put to death, and he had nursed his resentment and refused to serve in office. Thus he and Wang Mi had found kindred souls in one another; they formed a bond as brothers of different surnames, and at times they tested their strength against one another. So Liu Ling recognized Wang Mi as a worthy fellow.

Wang Mi had later become good friends with the brothers of the Guan family as well, for they had all been acclaimed as talents of that age. So when Wang Mi received Liu Ling's message, he sighed deeply and lamented, "My later father always knew that this day would come. Now Brother Zitong is bidding me come and join him, and if I should fail to heed the call, I would be betraying my loyal and righteous heart and casting away the things I have learned all my life. But the brothers of the Guan family have entrusted me to share weal and woe together with them. They are still so young; how could they ever escape on their own?"

So Wang Mi hurried to the home of the Guan family. Guan Fang and Guan Jin saw him approach, and they led him inside. Then, bursting with great sorrow, they exclaimed, "Brother Flying Panther (for this was his nickname), you see how dire the situation has become. What are we to do?"

Years earlier, in the first year of Qianlong (233), their father Guan Xing had suffered a loss during one of the northern campaigns and had been lying in his sickbed at home. Guan Xing had recognized the steady decline of the state, and he was always lamenting, "Now is the season when the villains shall have their way; the day of grief is fast approaching. What shall become of our clan?" But then when he had seen Wang Mi come into their home and sit and speak of affairs, he had been reassured and thought, "He truly is the son of Wang Zijun. I can entrust the fates of my sons to him." And he had commanded Guan Fang and Guan Jin to form a close bond with Wang Mi.

Wang Mi now told the brothers, "The state is about to fall into the hands of the sworn enemies of your family. You cannot allow this disaster to overtake you as well. Now Liu Zitong has bade me come and take refuge along with him, and because of my deep regard for you, I came especially to inform you of it as well. If you ask me what you should do, the only option is to seek shelter at once, then later join your efforts with those of the other scions to assist them in reviving the state. That would be the best plan."

Guan Fang said, "Elder Brother, it is just as you say. But what shall we do about the members of our families?"

Wang Mi replied, "When a man acts in the interests of the state, he must put aside considerations of his family. Besides, the Sima clan is just about to fulfill their grand ambition of usurping the throne, and they will want to put on a show of benevolence and righteousness to win over the hearts of the masses. How could they indulge in vengeance against your family? I entreat you, my worthy brothers, to put aside your worries and think only of how to serve the state."

Guan Fang and Guan Jin thus heeded the call and fled along with Wang Mi, leaving their families behind. Alas, the remaining members of the Guan clan perished at the poisonous hand of Pang De's son Pang Hui; the whole family was caught up in that tragic disaster, so that the Guan clan was nearly extinguished. What a loss!

卻說王彌同防、謹到家辭親，帶平時用器、強弓勁弩，忻然偕關氏弟兄一齊躍馬而出。關謹曰："北門有鄧艾自在那裡，不可輕往，東西二門賊兵亦盛，惟南門路窄，提防稍懈，我們當從南門而出。"王彌然之，於是望南門衝突而去。時有魏將李因列兵擋住去路。王彌乃曰："我等是異鄉客人，因在成都生理，今天兵圍城，口食不給，是以欲奔還鄉，望將軍開一生路，放我眾人逃命，深感大恩。"因曰："吾奉主將之令，那敢放走一人？必須拿進大營，查驗一過，方可發落放去。"王彌知事不諧，即輪起大刀殺進。李因亦挺槍急架。二人相持良久，關防怒上心頭，亦提起鐵楞混殺一場。於是且戰且卻，將逃二十餘里。

We should mention that when Wang Mi, Guan Fang, and Guan Jin had gone home to take leave of their families, they had buckled on their usual equipment, including strong bows and powerful crossbows. Then, in joyful company, they had all mounted their horses and dashed off.

Guan Jin observed, "Deng Ai himself is present at the north gate, and we could not easily break through there. And the east and west gates are both filled with enemy soldiers. But the road through the south gate, being somewhat narrow, will be less guarded by our foes. Let us flee through the south gate." Wang Mi agreed, so they hurried towards the south gate.

At this time, the Wei general Li Yin had arrayed his troops to block this road. Wang Mi thus said to him, "We are travelers from another town who were in Chengdu to make a living for ourselves. But now the government troops have surrounded the city, and we have nothing to eat. So we want to go back to our hometown. General, we hope that you will clear a path for us; if you allow us to escape with our lives, we would be deeply grateful."

But Li Yin replied, "I have my orders from my commander; would I dare to let any fugitives escape? You had better go to the main camp first, and once they have examined you, then you might be allowed to depart."

Wang Mi saw that further deception was useless, so he lifted his blade and charged ahead, ready to kill. Li Yin too hefted his lance and hurried to meet his opponent. The pair were engaged in combat for quite some time before Guan Fang, whose heart and mind were now full of rage, also raised his weapon and plunged into the fighting. The trio of fugitives were thus slowly able to get away from the city, now turning to fight, now falling back, until they had advanced for more than twenty li.

且說鄧忠正巡視至南門，知城中奸細走出，李因已去追趕，乃令族弟鄧濮帶領家兵二千，星飛趕捉。而王彌等早被魏人團團圍住不放，正在危急之際，只見東南坡下突出三騎，領了莊客數百人，各持利刃殺入陣來。且看那三人入陣，恰似虎入羊群，揮刀亂斫。鄧濮驟馬接戰，卻不提防被暗箭正中坐馬，把鄧濮掀翻在地，那樊榮只一刀斫死。不想放箭者卻是李圭，於是關防、關謹乘亂殺出重圍。李因馳馬急追，防、謹奮力抵衛，殊不知王彌從旁躍出，將李因一刀刺中左腿。因負痛逃去，諸副將亦不知去向。那三人縱橫衝突，彼追兵伏尸流血，殺死殆盡。王彌、關防等見追兵已散，乃回身下馬，相見拜謝，深感再造之恩，且問為何得諸君來救，願聞姓字因由。三人答曰："某等弟兄乃李圭、李瓚與表弟樊���也。先祖李嚴被上譴責，徙居於安樂鎮，此去尚有六十餘里。先父李豐曾為參軍，見朝廷任非其人，囑我輩不可出仕。今與叔父李裕權止舊窩，聽得魏兵追捉列位，吾弟兄在前山看已多時，見諸公勢窘，心甚忿怒，以是統領蒼頭前來助鬥耳。"王彌等稱謝不已，亦各道訴逃竄之故。圭曰："既如此，皆是同志，即吾一家，乃天使之相遇也。且今天色已晚，權到敝莊住宿一宵，再作他圖。"王彌等感其殷勤，即與同到莊所。

We should mention that Deng Zhong had been on patrol near the south gate, and when he saw these fugitives making a desperate escape and that Li Yin had already gone in pursuit of them, Deng Zhong ordered his younger kinsman Deng Pu to lead two thousand of their household soldiers and chase after the trio like shooting stars. 

Wang Mi and the Guan brothers soon found themselves totally surrounded by the Wei soldiers; they were unable to break through, and they were in a most perilous position. But suddenly they saw three riders charge out from behind a slope to the southeast, and behind them followed several hundred strong retainers, each wielding good weapons and prepared to slaughter the enemy ranks. And when these three horsemen led their forces into the enemy, they were like tigers among sheep, and their blades inflicted great destruction as they swung to and fro. Deng Pu turned his horse to attempt to face this new threat, but then an arrow loosed from some unknown direction struck his horse; Deng Pu tumbled to the ground, where one of the horsemen, Fan Rong, finished him off with a single swipe of his blade. The marksman had been another of the riders, Li Gui. Guan Fang and Guan Jin then took advantage of the confusion to cut their way out. Li Yin made a mad dash to pursue them, but they exerted all their strength to hold him off. Wang Mi then closed in from the side and pierced Li Yin in his left leg. Yelping with pain, Li Yin fled, and his subordinates did not know which way to turn. Then the three horsemen charged their flank, and the enemy pursuit troops were nearly wiped out; the ground was strewn with their fallen bodies and flowing blood.

When Wang Mi and the Guan brothers saw that the pursuit troops had all scattered, they turned back and descended from their horses to offer their thanks to their rescuers, deeply grateful for having been saved from certain destruction. They further asked these gentlemen where they had come from and inquired what their names were. The three riders replied, "We are the brothers Li Gui and Li Zan, along with their cousin Fan Rong. Our grandfather was Li Yan, who was censured and denounced by the court and exiled to the Le'an Garrison, some sixty li from here. Our late father Li Feng once served as an advisor in the army, but when he saw that the court had no regard for him, he charged us never to take up office ourselves. Until this time, we had been doing nothing more than living with our uncle Li Yu in his old home. But when we heard that the Wei troops were about to catch some fugitives, we went up on that slope earlier and saw that you gentlemen were being sorely pressed. Our hearts were moved by anger and indignation for you, so we led our retainers to come and help you in your struggle."

Wang Mi and the Guan brothers thanked them unceasingly, and they too related the stories of their escape. Li Gui observed, "Then it seems that we all share the same ambition; we shall be as one family, for Heaven has arranged for us to meet this day. Yet see how the sky is already growing dark. Let us go and take shelter with our uncle at his village to spend the night, then tomorrow we can plan our next move." The trio were moved by this hospitality, so they agreed to return to the village with the horsemen.

莊內僮僕迎進，其叔李裕秉燭出接，分賓主坐定，又各達姓名衷曲。裕置酒相款，席間嘆息曰："余先君在日，每嘗戮力王室，為國忘家。後因失事被譴，厥志不遂。見諸葛丞相人亡，傷念不已，竟成疾而逝。今吾輩目擊國破主辱，不能繼述先君之忠，以匡救王室，何用生為？"眾皆感悼，無不泣下數行淚。惟王彌撫掌大笑而起曰："夫否泰運也，榮辱數也，何足悲哉？況天生吾才，必有所用。昔晉文避難出奔，賢士雲從，卒複霸業。吾輩才雖不及古人，然有志者事竟成，安知他年建立，出於晉文公下乎？諸君何用作楚囚之對泣耶？"裕曰："飛豹之言，真達時有志之論也。"眾皆拱手稱謝。次日，彌等辭謝，即欲告行。裕曰："且劉氏諸公子，不知去向。諸君宜且暫住寒莊，待我遣人往張、黃、諸葛、趙等各家探聽的實，那時赴會未遲。不然，彼此各自一方，勢分力弱，欲成大事，此實難矣。"彌曰："既蒙老丈厚愛，敢不惟命是從？固願速修書一封，令盛使馳各家一探，則老丈報主之忠，交友之信，可謂兩得矣。但思我輩家屬且不顧，恨不能滅此逆賊而後朝食，安可再有遲疑？今就告別，隨盛使去尋舊主，兼打探各家下落，以共圖大事。蓋國賊不俱生，非賊死吾手，我必死於賊之手矣。"裕曰："有諸君如此忠肝義膽，天地亦為之垂佑，何患事不成哉？"即送王彌等起程。臨行，攜手囑曰："早晚若舉大事，某當遣侄輩三人前來相助，聊盡老夫先世以來報國之志耳！"眾皆謝別。裕又曰："諸公如有確信，望早惠玉音，以慰懸念。"

When they arrived at the village, the household servants came out to meet them, and Li Yu set out candles to welcome their arrival. Once the hosts and guests were all properly seated, Wang Mi and the others all gave their names and poured out their emotions. Li Yu passed around the wine, and from his mat he sighed and said, "When my late father was still alive, he was always exerting all his strength on behalf of the royal house, and devoted himself to the state even at the expense of his family. But alas, because my father committed a fault and was denounced, he was never able to fulfill his ambitions. And when he saw that Prime Minister Zhuge had died, he became so overcome with grief that he developed an illness and passed away as well. As for my own generation, we have seen with our own eyes that the state has fallen and our sovereign has been shamed. We are powerless to carry on the loyalty of our forefathers or rescue the royal family. What purpose do our lives have?" And the others were so moved by his grief that not an eye was dry, but all wept freely.

Wang Mi alone let forth a great laugh. He rose up and declared, "Sir, it is not you who has suffered this extreme fate or endured such bitter shame; why then should you grieve so? Besides, Heaven must have had some purpose in mind when it created such talented fellows as ourselves. Remember that Duke Wen of Jin too was once forced to flee his state and abandon his inheritance, yet worthy gentlemen flocked to his cause like the gathering of clouds, and in the end he was able to restore his lineage and become a hegemon. Although we young people cannot claim to be as talented as those heroes of old, still we too have our ambitions and mean to see them fulfilled. And who knows whether in some distant year we might not establish ourselves and put the achievements of Duke Wen of Jin to shame? What use is it for you all to sit around and weep like prisoners of Chu?"

Li Yu replied, "Flying Panther speaks true. That is truly what a man of ambition would say in such times." And everyone present clasped their hands and apologized to him.

The next day, as Wang Mi and the others were preparing to take their leave, they asked for advice on where they should go. Li Yu told them, "I do not know where the Liu princes have gone off to. Why don't you fellows stay in this humble village for a while longer, and wait until I can send people to fetch the scions of the Zhang, Huang, Zhuge, Zhao, and other clans and inform them of what is going on? Once they arrive, it would not be too late for you to all leave together. But otherwise, if you all go your separate ways like this, your strength will be divided and weak, and even if you wished to complete the great achievement, it would be hard to accomplish anything."

Wang Mi replied, "You have been most kind to us, Sir, and would I dare not to consider your proposal? I am certainly willing to write a letter at once and let you send your messengers to seek out each family. By doing so, you would be able to both repay your loyalty to our lord and win the trust of our friends, and could kill two birds with one stone. But suppose our family members are unwilling to join us, and not ready to dedicate themselves to slaying the traitors before tending to their daily concerns? How then could you say that we would not be too late? So though we part ways for now, we will send out word for everyone to rejoin their former masters and let everyone seek out the whereabouts of their own families so that someday we may plan the great achievement together. For the same world cannot contain both us and the villains; either they shall die at our hands, or we shall die at theirs."

Li Yu said, "With such loyal hearts and righteous souls as you gentlemen possess, Heaven and Earth themselves will lend you their aid. Should there be any worries of failure?" And he accompanied Wang Mi and the others on the first stage of their journey.

As the young men were about to depart, Li Yu clasped his hands and instructed them, "If you should someday launch your great endeavor, perhaps it will have been because I sent my three nephews earlier to aid you. Thus may I repay the ambitions of the generations of our state before us!" They all thanked him and took their leave. Li Yu added, "If you gentlemen are earnest in your efforts, be sure to write to me soon, so that you do not keep me in suspense."

眾應而別，裕贈詩一首曰：君因國破棄家鄉，萬里迢遙赴遠方。此去若能興大業，早傳魚錦慰牽腸。

When the young men had all departed, Li Yu sang a verse to himself:

These scions of a worthy line

Depart their fallen home

Their kith and kin they leave behind

And far afield they roam.

But if their journeys can revive

The state, let them depart!

And should ambitions they achieve,

Send word to worried hearts. 

[theworkofxanderking]

The Originals: Bad Blood (Alternative Season 5)

Episode Six: From Here to Hell Town (Part One of Two)

Warnings: I do not own the original content to “The Originals”, “The Vampire Diaries” or “Legacies” or any of the characters from the television shows.

15 plus, displays of Violence, Gore, Torture, M/M, F/M, F/F.

Klaus found himself walking through the woods of Mystic Falls which looked exactly like it did a thousand years ago a time when things may have been simpler but were far less tolerable.

He vamp sped through the forest only to find him back in the same spot so he continued to vamp speed and try and escape but kept returning to the same point much to his disappointment.

“No matter how hard you try Niklaus everything always leads back to here.” Nathaniel said to him appearing from out of thin air much to Klaus’ surprise.

“What kind of bloody spell have you cast on me?” Klaus snapped at him.

“This is no spell Niklaus I am only here because I’m on your mind.” Nathaniel replied with a smile across his face.

“Of course, you’re on my mind you’re a treacherous bastard I would’ve done anything for you, and you return after a thousand years to treat me and my family like chess pieces.” Klaus shouted while walking towards Nathaniel.

“That’s not how I recall it I asked you to leave this place with me, but you couldn’t.” Nathaniel responded. “I wanted a life with you and instead we both have had several lifetimes without each other.”

“Why are you doing all this?” Klaus snapped while grabbing a hold of Nathaniel. “What did I do to ever deserve this from you?”

“You ripped out my heart,” Nathaniel replied as Klaus found himself choking on blood only to look down to see Nathaniel’s hand inside his chest. “Now I will rip out yours.”

Suddenly Klaus woke up in his bed shirtless and sweating while heaving panting looking around his bedroom to realize, he was at the compound and it was all just a dream. Sadly, the return of his former love now possible enemy was no dream but a living nightmare.

Hope and Hayley were in the bayou fight training with each other each wearing boxing gloves and gym gear Hope managing to hold her own against her mother but neither hitting the other particularly hard clearly not wanting to hurt each other and training to keep themselves ready for a fight they had a feeling was coming.

“Not too bad!” Hayley said as she threw a punch in her daughter’s direction only for Hope to duck and miss Hayley’s fist.

“I had a good teacher.” Hope replied as she launched her foot at her mother’s legs tripping her up in the process and causing Hayley to fall to the ground back first. “Now are we going to talk about my uncle Henrik returning from the dead all grown up and ready to kill us all or is everyone going to just keep lying to me?”

“We’re not trying to hide anything from you Hope it’s just we don’t really know much right now.” Hayley answered her daughter while rising back on her feet. “Rebekah’s gone to some weird ass ghost town to speak to this Malus guy under some illusion she can get more information out of him I mean if anyone could it’d be your aunt Bex.”

“You know just once I’d like to get a family reunion that doesn’t end in somebody being murdered.” Hope responded with a sigh. “I can’t believe Aunt Rebekah gets to go witch hunting for possibly the most mysterious sounding witch in history and I’m stuck here, no offense.”

“Offense taken,” Hayley said with a sarcastic smile. “Rebekah has history with him and she’s immortal so she’s allowed to go witch hunting you however are a 15-year-old girl who should be studying not hunting.”

“Please mum I’m part wolf and their all about hunting not to mention my father is an original vampire and we all know they are the number one predator.” Hope said making it clear she was not a little girl anymore. “I’m not saying I want to be thrown into every crazy situation our family gets into because quite frankly nobody’s got enough time in the calendar for that, but I want to get involved from time to time instead of always feeling left out.”

“Hope you are involved,” Hayley told her as she gave her daughter a hug. “Everything we do both your father and I is to keep you safe to give you a better life than either of us ever had.”

“I know that’s what you think your doing but I’m not some little princess who needs protecting I’m a Tribrid and I’m pretty sure I could take you.” Hope said as she brushed off her mother’s hug.

“You think so huh?” Hayley laughed. “I’ll tell you what the next Mikaelson mission I go on you can come with but only if you can beat me.”

“I’ll take it easy on you mother by not using any magic because that would be too easy.” Hope replied with a sinister smirk eager to prove herself as a formidable opponent.

Rebekah drove down an empty clearly run down road while driving a luxury sports car with the roof down so the wind would freely blow her hair as she blared music only for Bonnie who was sitting on the passenger seat to switch off the radio much to Rebekah’s dismay.

“Do you really need to switch off my music every bloody time I’m just starting to get into the song?” Rebekah asked her while keeping her eye on the road.

“You asked me to come with you to a creepy ghost town to meet a creepy witch now is not the time for music.” Bonnie moaned at her.

“You could’ve simply said no and left me to face the wicked old witch by myself after all I’ve faced many in my time.” Rebekah replied to her.

“All three Malus witches are a threat to not only you and your siblings but anyone who possesses magic which includes my witches in New Orleans, your niece Hope who I can imagine is quite high up on the list being an all-powerful Tribrid and then myself of course. Not to mention once their done with New Orleans they’ll probably head straight for Mystic Falls where there’s a school filled with magical students.” Bonnie said to Rebekah making it clear she was literally carrying the weight of the world on her shoulders in that moment.

“You are truly remarkable Bonnie Bennet I struggle to care for my own siblings at time’s Niklaus especially which I’m sure you can understand why and yet you somehow care for everyone.” Rebekah complimented her. “But here’s a little hint from one girl to another loving everybody else leaves very little time for loving yourself and a lot of time for heartbreak after heartbreak.”

“Enzo used to always tell me to be a little more selfish.” Bonnie replied with a smirk before a look of heartbreak crossed her face. “I tried that with him, and it ended with Stefan ripping his heart out right in front of me and me having to be a bridesmaid while my best friend married the man who killed the one, I loved.”

“See that the there is not selfish that’s the epitome of Bonnie Bennet only you would do something like that after what Stefan took from you I would’ve ripped his heart out on his pretty wedding to Caroline and made sure blood drenched her wedding dress purely for the satisfying visuals and dramatic effect.” Rebekah revealed.

“Trust me there were many times I pictured killing Stefan and then he died, and I couldn’t help but blame myself for not saving him.” Bonnie admitted. “I despised him and yet I still felt guilty because my best friend the most loving person in the world lost her husband the same day, she married him.”

“If you ask me Caroline had a lucky escape loving Stefan Salvatore only ends in heartache especially when doppelgangers are in the mix even if Elena chose Damon in the end I’m sure Katherine would find some way of claiming Stefan even from the great beyond.” Rebekah reassured Bonnie in typical Rebekah fashion. “Besides Caroline needs someone who challenges her, someone who can handle her and who she can handle.”

“I swear if you say Klaus, I’m throwing myself out of this car right now.” Bonnie laughed.

“Believe it or not Bonnie but when us Mikaelson’s love we love with every fiber of our being even if the world sees us as monsters.” Rebekah replied with a sigh of sadness.

“I know it’s just when also when you hate you hate with every fiber of your being.” Bonnie admitted causing Rebekah to laugh.

“Bonnie Bennet I think I’m beginning to like you or at least tolerate you.” Rebekah revealed as she gave Bonnie a smile before returning her attention to the road. “I sure hope you don’t wind up dead today.”

Klaus walked into the dining area of the compound to find Hayley, Marcel and Elijah sitting at his table clearly having a conversation which had been hushed by his arrival making Klaus keen to know what his family had been keeping from him this time.

“Please don’t tell me another mistake of mine has crawled out of their graves to torment me further.” Klaus said to them.

“Actually, we just having a conversation about a Mikaelson representative at the faction meetings.” Marcel with a wicked smile clearly ready for the inevitable drama to unfold.

“Finally, some good news,” Klaus responded with a smile of his own. “I promise to try and be as reasonable as possible and perhaps even attempt following some rules.”

“Yeah see I agreed to a Mikaelson representative, but I never said I was going to agree to it being you.” Marcel revealed to him as he stood up from his chair.

“Please there is no Mikaelson better fitting than me!” Klaus snapped.

“History shows that there is no Mikaelson less fitting than you.” Hayley said as she too stood up from her chair. “Out of all the Mikaelson’s you have the most enemies and that’s quite a feat considering Kol has less enemies than you.”

“Kol has the right attitude but fails to make a lasting impression like I do.” Klaus replied with a sinister smirk.

“Brother it really is in the family’s best interest that we make this work this time around with as little bloodshed as possible.” Elijah told his younger brother as he was the last to stand up from his chair.

“That’s easy for you to say I was once a king in this city!” Klaus shouted. “And now you want me to be what another local?”

“Hey at least now you can put your full attention on seeking out Henrik and Nathaniel where are we on that by the way?” Marcel said to Klaus attempting to change the subject.

“Rebekah and bloody Bonnie Bennett are heading to some hell town as we speak to seek them out,” Klaus snapped while looking at Marcel, Hayley and Elijah with pure fury in his eyes. “However, I may advise them to switch sides with me and align ourselves with Henrik instead.”

“Bonnie is the least likely person to ever work alongside you Klaus.” Hayley said with a smirk clearly amused by Klaus’ rage.

“This will not stand!” Klaus shouted before looking at Elijah. “You’re the Mikaelson representing at these meetings.”

“Yes, but I promise to work alongside you as much as possible brother.” Elijah admitted to him.

“Well good luck to the lot of you because the only thing more boring than endless meetings is Elijah and you’ve just aligned the two now that’s the ultimate enemy give me psychotic witches and long lost zombie siblings any day over meetings with Elijah.” Klaus moaned in a fit before vamp speeding out of the dining area leaving Elijah, Hayley and Marcel smirking at each other over his reaction to their news.

Rebekah’s car pulled up just in front of the graffiti-ed Welcome to Helton signed which was graffiti-ed to say Welcome to Hell town as Rebekah and Bonnie got out of the car and walked over to the sign so that the two of them were standing right next to it.

“Did somebody really have to make this place any spookier by calling it Hell town?” Bonnie asked while looking at the sign.

“Trust me the sign is not as bad as what’s after it and I’m not talking about hooded robes pulling out hearts I’m talking about the entire town seeming haunted. Murders I can take however ghosts of people already dead and usually by me or my blood well they tend to be a little bit trickier.” Rebekah replied to her.

“Why have we stopped here?” Bonnie questioned.

“We’re walking the rest of the way just in case things get messy I don’t want my car coming to any harm.” Rebekah answered her as the two began walking in wards to the ghost town.

“Suddenly I’m finding this place creepier than the person living here.” Bonnie revealed. “And I can’t help but wonder why a powerful witch would reside here instead of somewhere more extravagant or at least less dead although I suppose they do specialize in death magic.”

“Ghost towns make good prisons or at least that’s what Nathaniel would like me to believe is the only reason I can tell this place means something to him I just haven’t figured out what yet and honestly that’s the last question on my mind needing answered by him.” Rebekah admitted to Bonnie.

“You mean like how he went from human to Malus almighty in a thousand years or how he learned about his magic if so far it’s only him, his father and Henrik that appear to have this ancient magic knowing he must’ve taught Henrik and his father was too busy trying to kill him to play teacher.” Bonnie went on to say as they continued their walking inwards to Helton.

“Exactly well that and the added power hungry consuming magic thing.” Rebekah answered. “Don’t get me wrong he seems like more of a bastard than he was a thousand years ago, but I can still see Nathaniel in there or at least I’ve fooled myself into seeing him.”

“You want to trust him, don’t you?” Bonnie asked her as they walked up to the abandoned town center of Helton.

“Of course, I do he was my first friend, Niklaus’ first love although he thought we didn’t know, and he was like family.” Rebekah said with a sigh of sadness. “Makes sense as to why he wants to kill us now.”

“I don’t think he does I mean he removed The Hollow from you and your siblings and only wanted you to free your brother in return.” Bonnie said to her as the two stopped outside the boarded-up Helton Hotel. “As wicked as Malus is meant to be so far, he seems only to be of help to you even though you drained him of his blood. I don’t think he’s fully giving into this magic like his father and Henrik has and that’s the real reason he needs our help because he’s not powerful enough to take down his father alone and he needs help saving Henrik.”

“What you genuinely believe that unlike all Malus witches Nathaniel has somehow fought the darkness within this magic for over a thousand years?” Rebekah asked in shock. “That’s impossible.”

“Is it? We don’t know much about Malus most of it is whispers of whispers and to be honest with you I’m putting money on Nathaniel not being too much of an expert either.” Bonnie replied.

“His father would be though, and it just so happens he’s being held right here.” Rebekah said with a scheming smile. “As long as we’re smart about it, we can finally get the answers that Elijah and Nathaniel have been keeping from us.”

“Or we release the nastier version of Nathaniel into the world and get nothing but lies.” Bonnie warned her.

“Don’t you want to know more about this magic? We are powerful women you lead an entire city of witches and I reunited my family and yet we’re kept in the dark so to speak by men.” Rebekah stated. “Let’s get the answers from the father then we’ll have more sway when we speak to the son.”

“Okay I’m in but if anything goes wrong, we get the hell out of hell town.” Bonnie told her.

“You’ve been dying to say that haven’t you?” Rebekah laughed.

“Perhaps just a little.” Bonnie responded with a smile.

Hope found herself walking down the busy streets of the French Quarter before taking a turn down an alleyway only to be left surprised to see Nathaniel stood in the alleyway instantly recognizing him as somebody with immense power realizing he must be the powerful witch her family had been talking about.

“So, I don’t see any family resemblance so I’m going to guess that you are my father’s ex Nathaniel and not my uncle Henrik.” Hope said to him.

“Ex?” Nathaniel replied with a smirk. “I suppose that is the correct term I must say you truly are remarkable Hope Mikaelson defying the impossible and not being one but three of the supernatural a true hybrid.”

“Less of the flattery please why don’t you get straight to the reason to why your hanging out in alleyways looking for a fifteen-year-old.” Hope snapped at him.

“I would go to Bonnie but I’m afraid one favour is more than enough to owe the Bennett’s and as for your aunt Freya she is rather busy with the whole pregnancy and everything and besides she doesn’t strike me as anywhere near as powerful as you Hope.” Nathaniel explained. “I’ve been working with your uncle Elijah with a plan to rid myself of my retched father and save Henrik’s soul however what he doesn’t know is that’s plan B you my precious little fireball are plan A.”

“And what makes you think I would be foolish enough to trust you?” Hope asked him.

“Because all you’ve ever wanted is your family united and I’m trying my everything to help Henrik be a part of that family.” Nathaniel admitted. “All I’ve ever wanted was for Henrik to live a life different to my own to be free from the curse that comes with this magic.”

“My aunt Rebekah went to go find you she’s going to be super pissed to find out you’re in New Orleans.” Hope responded trying to change the subject only to see Nathaniel’s facial expressions change to that of pure fear.

“Rebekah went looking for me did she not think to run it past Elijah?” Nathaniel asked the youngest Mikaelson as he began to fear the worst.

“Yeah my aunt Bex doesn’t really ask for permission for anything from anyone.” Hope said while noticing Nathaniel’s fear. “What the hell is wrong with you?”

“I’m afraid your aunt maybe in great danger I had hoped to avoid him at all costs but I’m going to need you to take me to your father.” Nathaniel declared. “If we don’t move quickly Rebekah’s life could be at risk.”

Rebekah and Bonnie were walking through the woods of Helton until they saw Nathaniel’s mysterious followers in hooded robes standing in the same circle as Rebekah had seen them before while a lifeless Augustus remained tied to the tree with his heart on the ground next to him.

“So, what exactly is the plan here?” Bonnie asked Rebekah as the two of them hid behind a tree to not be seen.

“I was thinking I fight off the undead while you place his heart back in his chest and then do some barrier spell of your own so he can’t escape.” Rebekah explained quietly. “Afterwards we hope Nathaniel’s ghost squad isn’t too pissed and conduct their own barrier spell as we leave with all the information we’ve been looking for.”

“That’s not a plan that’s a rash violent mission which is bound to get us both killed.” Bonnie warned her.

“Like we haven’t both done much worse before.” Rebekah replied with a smile before vamp speeding towards the worshiper's direction.

Rebekah only got halfway there before one of the robed worshipers raised their hand in her direction stopping her mid flight and forcing her to freeze on that spot unable to move as the worshiper's begin chanting loudly in the unrecognizable language which was becoming far too regular for Rebekah’s liking.

Bonnie moved from behind the tree chanting in Croatian while holding her hands out only to begin feeling immense pain as her veins turned black showing through her skin and her nose began to bleed furiously.

“If you’re going to do something now would be the time.” Bonnie shouted in between chants.

“I guess this means we go to Plan B.” Rebekah mumbled to herself as she fought past the worshiper's magic with the help of Bonnie’s spell and vamp sped over towards Augustus picking his heart up from the floor in the process and launching it into his chest.

“No!” The worshiper's screamed in unison before their bodies began catching on fire the flames burning them harshly and rapidly as the hoods fell revealing them as zombies with rotten skin and bones clearly once human but not recognizable to anyone anymore.

The worshiper's let out a series of screams as Bonnie fell to the ground causing Rebekah to fear for her frenemies’ life only to be further shocked to see the worshiper's explode in unison leaving nothing but body parts and rotted skin behind.

Rebekah vamp sped over to Bonnie kneeling over and picking her up in her arms before shaking the witch’s body hoping to wake her.

“Bonnie Bennett you don’t get to die not here!” Rebekah snapped before she noticed Bonnie beginning to open her eyes causing Rebekah to smile. “You’re quite the remarkable witch how did you manage to kill them all?”

“I didn’t do that.” Bonnie revealed making Rebekah look around the woods only to realize Augustus was no longer anywhere to be seen.

[diguerra-moved]

🌀

Send me a number 1 thru 50 for a word that I’ll use to write either a headcanon, drabble, or starter. Send 🌀 for a random number instead.

37 - Gone

She had been told before she had seen it. Amidst dragons setting the woods aflame and chaotic bloodshed of battle, there was no doubt Quel’thalas had suffered plenty of losses. No one had had the full dimension of it until after the battle, however; but as rain reduced the fire to ashes and washed the blood of attackers and defenders into the earth, the landscape spoke only of ruin and loss. Bodies of all sorts littered the ground: grotesque green skinned orc warriors, the tall figures of trolls, humans who had lived but a fraction of her own life, elves who still sported the determined gaze of those intent on defending their land. Occasionally, one of those may be found clinging to life, breathing difficultly, bleeding too much for their survival to be likely; most were already dead, heart and lungs long ceased to work. For the fallen elves, her people, her heart was heavy with sorrow. For the humans, she held both gratitude and respect, unlikely defenders of Quel’thalas as they were. Yet each time her gaze touched the loathsome forms or Horde warriors, less positive feelings filled her; a dark satisfaction at seeing the corpses of their enemies in such great number — a satisfaction that would not compare to that of bloody revenge, after she had been made to see the entire aftermath of the attack.

She had been told before she had seen it. Alleria had shed tears for her land, beloved and beautiful, not ever before in her life destroyed so atrociously. Such tears paled in comparison to those that followed the news, shed before she even laid eyes on Windrunner Spire. Yes, they had come to her to bring the grim news, even tried to prevent her of running straight to the village, yet she had been unconcerned with who was in the way or what she was to find there. Yet even having been told before, even having had shed tears for the state of her land and fallen comrades, no words in this world could have prepared her to witness the utter ruin of her home. 

Quel’thalas was her home. Eversong Forest was one of the places she felt most at home in. Nevertheless, the Spire was truly home: where she had been born and raised, where she had grown up and played with her sisters, where she had danced to her little brother’s music, where she had practiced archery until her fingers hurt so she would honor the expectations placed upon the eldest Windrunner daughter. Although the buildings themselves were not as damaged, blood stained stone walls that had never before been touched by crimson red. Much before her steps carried her to the center of it, her gaze found the first bodies, victims of the carnage caused by the orcs. People she had known her entire life. Her stomach churned, skin turning deathly pale; Alleria was no stranger to death, but to see it so close, to see so much of it, to see it in familiar faces, it filled her with a sense of dread greater than any she had experienced before. Even as pale blue eyes scoured the scene in spite of her recoiling in face of it, she was overwhelmed with terror; seeking for what she knew she was bound to find, terrified of finding that which she sought.

Please — let it be a mistake. Let them be wrong. He couldn’t have been there, shouldn’t have there. Lirath had to be safe, it had to be a mistake. Her little brother was a young one; not even of age to be a ranger yet, though he already claimed his intent to follow the path of his sisters, a casual cheerful confidence always coloring his words whenever he spoke of it. There was always an inherent warmth to her brother’s demeanor, capable of illuminating everything around him. He was special like few people in all of the world would ever be; special to her more than he was to anyone else. 

Little sun… you have to be well. Wishful thinking did not make her heart lighter, nor did it dissolve the lump on her throat, neither did it dry her tears. He hadn’t been mentioned by name, the most hopeful parts of her whispered; the Spire had been attacked and many had fallen, but her brother had not been named as one of the casualties. But as her footsteps echoed, loud as only the sole sound amidst deafening silence can be, part of her knew there was no way he could have survived when everything else surrounding their home was dead or dying, the landscape eerily grim. 

Moonlight provided more than enough illumination for her elven eyes to see everything clearly; it gave the scene a ghostly tone, pale light reflecting on it and leaving all bathed in silver-blue shades. Even his hair, pure sunlit gold as her own, shone more akin to Sylvanas’ pale blond, night robbing it of its sunshine — night or death, she thought, even as a sob escaped her lips, grief and sorrow and despair felt tenfold. The turmoil raged within her chest, overflowing in tears as she ran towards his body; lying in a pool of blood, blood that could only be his own, blood that drenched her clothes and stained her shaky hands as they touched his face. Her little brother still wore the terrified expression he had died with, making it impossible that she even pretended he was merely asleep, that unconsciousness wasn’t now a permanent state. His chest, torn open by an orcish axe, was a gruesome sight, exposing parts of the body that should never have been on display; against one like her brother, not yet a warrior, this wasn’t even consequence of battle, simply plain butchery the monsters had delighted in doing. 

Oh Lirath — I am so sorry, so sorry, I should have been here, if I had been here they would never have gotten to you, I should have protected you, I’m sorry, I’m so sorry. Even the grizzly wound and protruding bones were not enough to tear her away from him, copious crying shaking her body for minutes or hours or days before any would find her there, still kneeling close to his mutilated corpse; time no longer made sense to her. It could have been one second or one century, and it would have felt just the same.

She carries the ruin of his body herself, careful as if he were made of glass, gentle as if merely a brusque movement might disturb his rest; set him carefully where he would be prepared for a funeral alongside the others (she understood the words, acknowledged what was being said to her, made decisions when so requested, and yet the very concept of it made no sense within her mind, as if in spite of her sorrow and what had been made of her brother, she still did not understand the concept of death). 

He was gone, forever, well beyond this world; and yet how could he be, when his absence would make the world dark and grim and bleak and senseless? Gone; as if someone like him could ever truly be gone, him who gave the world light and meaning and joy. She had seen what happened to him with her own eyes, his blood still staining her attire and her skin, yet it didn’t matter. He could not be gone, not truly. A world devoid of the Little Sun wasn’t a world worthy of surviving in; and the world seemed much the same. How could the moon glow in the sky above, to bring light to a world her brother no longer lived in? How could rivers run and plants grow and animals live, unaffected, if he truly lived no longer? The world did not share of her sorrow; surely, then, she could only have been mistaken. Surely it was not forever, not permanent. Surely he could not be gone.

Though their bodies had not been too far apart, she only sees her lady mother when her corpse if placed besides her brother’s, her father on the other side. She knows it must be her father, both because he has the right build and because he’s so carefully laid beside her mother — but she cannot recognize his face, crushed with such strength there was nothing left of his strong jaw or high cheekbones, of his gentle smile. Her mother has multiple wounds, none as gruesome as her husband and son. The Ranger General still has about her that familiar air of strength and determination, and it is as if she will rise any minute to scold her firstborn for such blatant disregard in how she presented herself, before stern tone was laced in something gentler. Gone. Alleria had never had the chance of saying goodbye to her, departing to heed the Alliance’s call for help against the Ranger General’s wishes. Father and Lirath had received goodbyes, had been ensured of her love for them just before she went to war; but she could not have done so without the Ranger General stopping her of leaving, and so she had not done it at all. Now she would never have the chance again, her lady mother well beyond her reach in any meaningful manner; all of her family gone, in the blink of an eye, except for herself and her sisters.

“She wanted you to have it, I’m certain you know.” Alleria had known Lorveth practically her entire life, yet even her mother’s second-in-command felt like an otherworldly presence to her then. Grief should have been enough to bridge that gap, perhaps, but her grief was not of the gentle sort, did not seek kinship in one who would mourn the same losses she did. Her gaze fell to the bow offered to her, face blank; she did not reach out to it even though it was offered to her so. Thas’dorah was always meant to fall to her, eventually — everyone, even beyond her family, was well aware of that. 

The Legacy of the Windrunners had been passed down through generations ever since its creation, the legendary weapon of the very first Ranger General of Quel’thalas. Perhaps, to others, it seemed merely a bow — it was not. It didn’t have any inherent magical qualities, except for those pertaining the materials it was made of, invulnerable to time and weather, as well as a particular affinity to the enchanted woods of Eversong. A finely crafted weapon, still, near unmatched. 

Alleria had seen her mother wield it many times before, was already familiar with the bow’s curves. When she had been but a little girl, already gifted in archery but far from mastering it, Lireesa had taken the time to sit with her and tell her the story of Thas’Dorah, what it meant, what it was beyond a simple bow. Alleria had listened intently, held the bow in awe when her mother allowed so, infinitely careful in her reverence for it. Eventually, when she had proven herself both skilled and cautious enough, mother had rewarded her with letting her shoot with it. Thas’Dorah had always filled her with intense adoration and equally measured dread. It was the legacy of her family taken physical shape; and that she was to be its bearer weighted heavily on her shoulders from the moment she first learned it was to be so.

Alleria didn’t want it. She would have traded all legendary bows in the world, all history and all family’s renown, her very skills as a ranger, if only it would bring those she had lost back.

But they were gone, and there was no undoing it. 

There is nothing shaky about her hands as her grip finally closes around the bow, only the certain determination to do well by what is being offered to her now. Her gaze does not look back at Lorveth, and she cannot bring herself to even remember thanking him, then. He does not press; once the Windrunner heir secures the bow firmly, he steps back, allowing her room to dwell in her thoughts. I will wield it proudly, mother. It is a promise she intends to fulfill; and Alleria vowed to herself to put it to the best use possible: by ridding this world of the beasts who even caused her mother not to be here to wield it herself any longer. Her family would have justice, no matter what; and it seemed only fitting that she would bring it by wielding the legacy of the Windrunners. 

In the back of her mind, Alleria knew there other worries to deal with. Her sisters would not see the Spire in the state she had seen it, but neither did she want them to see what had been made of their brother and father (Sylvanas would have been strong enough to deal with it, perhaps, but Vereesa, sensitive as she was, would be devastated by the grisly sight). Moreover, her mother’s bow was not all Lireesa had meant for her to inherit. Lorveth’s words may well have been about the mantle of Ranger General itself; mother had raised her for it, always intended for her to become the General after herself, as tradition would have it. Alleria flinched at the thought, unable to guard her reactions in the state she was in. She never wanted to be Ranger General. Her skills were best employed as they were, in the field, than commanding the Farstriders. 

And beholden by leadership, she would not be able to fulfill the promise of vengeance she had just made to herself. 

There were others who would want the position, though — one other, more specifically, came to mind immediately, in spite of all that felt odd and distant and wrong in her current state. She had sought it as nothing else in the world; and Alleria knew her to have the skill for it, if temper and willfulness got the best of her at times. Willa wanted nothing more than that mantle Alleria was so unwilling to carry. She would have been a good option, if she had the wrong last name; yet that she had the wrong last name made all difference in the world then and there. Lireesa had intended for Alleria to become General, even though, skilled as the eldest was, Sylvanas was the one best suited to commanding. She had valued tradition greatly, had tried to teach her eldest daughter to do the same, if Alleria’s wildness had often clashed with even her own attempts to comply. 

She owed it to her mother to pass it on to who would surely have been next in line in her eyes. She owed it to her sister not to deny her of it, when not only was she more than skilled enough, she would thrive in the position. Sylvanas would carry that burden with more ease than Alleria could have ever done. She would not deny it if it was offered to her — she would make their mother proud in a way the eldest knew she would not. She was meant to have it, regardless of Willa’s ambitions; and it wouldn’t be right to take that away from her before Sylvanas had the chance to decide what she wanted to do with it. 

Alleria didn’t think her heart could break more, yet she felt even its pieces further shattering, knowing precisely what it would mean to pass the title on to Sylvanas. Willa would hate her. What they had, whatever it was, could not weather this. Swallowing back her tears before they begun falling once again, she braced herself for what she had to do. Even if Willa hated her, she couldn’t do it to Sylvanas — she couldn’t do it to her mother, when she already robbed Lireesa of the outcome she would have wanted. It was the least there was to be done, to give her mother peace, to let her know, wherever she was, that the Windrunner legacy was carried on as she would have wanted it to; the only compromise she could find with her mother’s spirit that would allow them both what they would have preferred, or at least the closest thing to it. 

—————————————————————————————-

Her ashen haired counterpart had been there when the Ranger Lords approached her, still lost in sorrow unprocessed, to officially give her the position. She had been there to see Alleria lower her gaze and brace herself before meeting their gaze and refusing to uphold tradition, she had been there to stare intently at the blonde, enough so that Alleria could feel the eyes upon her as if their touch had been of the physical sort. She wondered if Willa had been able to see the apology evident in the her eyes, when the Windrunner glanced at her; if she would have understood it. If Willa had understood her demeanor to be apologetic, she had given no such acknowledgement. Throughout the war they had only pushed each other away, grown more distant than ever before. Perhaps it was for the best; perhaps it would make it simpler to live with her absence, having been offered distancing in smaller dose. 

“While it would have been the Ranger General’s wishes, I do not intend to accept it.” Silent shock had been the prevalent reaction, but even without looking at her, Alleria could see the glimpse of hope in Willa’s blue eyes only through imagining it. It did not make it simpler to finish speaking her part. The blonde breathed, deep, swallowing hard, hands closed in fists, strongly enough that nails digging her palms caused discomfort. “My skills are best employed elsewhere… and my sister Sylvanas is better suited to oversee Quel’thalas’ defenses than I am.”

“Sylvanas is the next Ranger General, not me.” Before she had even properly finished speaking, furious footsteps walked away from the scene. Alleria forced herself to stare firmly towards the Ranger Lord in front of her, though she wouldn’t have been able to even name who this one was, looking without seeing; she needn’t turn to know who had departed so enraged. Voicing a decision she so entirely believed in should not have been so hard; should not feel so wrong, make her want to apologize for it even if she would not take it back. It was the right choice. The only choice. Even if Willa hated her. 

It still made her feel in the wrong; and refuse to face it as she did, deep down Alleria knew exactly the why. There was more than friendly affection in her where Willa was concerned, more than even physical desire they often had indulged in, only to push away afterwards. She didn’t want to hurt her; she didn’t want to lose her, in spite of Willa not being hers to lose. She knew what this meant to Willa; becoming Ranger General was everything she truly wanted, and robbing her of it, regardless of reasoning, would not be forgiven. If her walking away enraged had led her only meters away or to the other side of the world, it didn’t matter. Even should they stand face to face, Willa would have acknowledged her presence no more than as a nuisance. Apologies would fall in deaf ears. Living and breathing she would be, but just as out of her reach as all those Alleria had lost to death.

Gone, like everyone else. 

It would be the last memory Alleria would have of her for a thousand years.

[thepilgrimofwar]

6.

The knock at the door surprised him, and Sederis rose to open it. He hadn’t expected to see anyone until he got up in the morning. More surprising though was that Nyrexis’ was at his door and not Lirelle- the more likely candidate who’d bother him in the dead of night. “Ny?” He asked.

“Should I be disappointed you're not happy to see me? Expecting someone else?” Folding her arms, she leaned against the doorframe, quirking a brow.

“Come in,” he said, widening the crack in the door. “I was expecting Lirelle. She’s usually the only one who bothers me just before bed.” Sederis invited her inside, pulling out a desk chair for her. “Want something to drink?” He produced an antique bottle from his bedside. It was an old whiskey, one that his family had drank for generations.

“If it was her, she'd be inside sprawled on the bed so you couldn't sleep. Would have thought that after so long living with her you'd remember she almost never knocks.” Ny waves the drink away, taking a seat and stretching her legs out between them.

“She did tell me to come though. Said something about taking drastic measures if I couldn't get through to you. Looks like she might have the right idea, judging by how much shittier you look than usual. What's going on Sederis?”

“Seems like everyone is convinced that I’m losing it.” Sederis chuckled humorlessly before looking away. “Nothing’s going on. Nothing out of the ordinary: The Emberglades is barely holding itself together while the Alliance approaches our shores. The times call for a tyrant, and that’s what I’ll be until this war is over.”

“If so many are convinced why haven't you considered the possibility that it's true? Just listen to yourself. You're not Sederis. Since when did Sederis ever even consider being a tyrant?”

Sederis’ expression darkened. “When I did what needed to be done. Because there wasn’t any other option. Leave these Lordlings alone and they’ll tear each other apart. Leave the lowborn to conspire amongst themselves and they’ll welcome the Alliance into our borders with open arms. Do you think I wanted this? Do you think I enjoyed to imprisoning the council?!” There was a pause as Sederis collected himself. He hadn’t expected to raise his voice like that. “Sorry. I just- I’m just trying my best- Just sometimes, the best isn’t enough.”

“Wow. She was right.” Ny stares at him for a moment, struggling to find any trace of the boy that she grew up with. “You sound like your father. No, worse than your father. You used to do things because they were the right thing to do, none of this ‘needed to be done’ shit. Your father died alone and unloved. He drove everyone who had ever cared about him away, even you. You better stop yourself before you try to emulate him any more.”

“I’m doing these things because it is the right thing to do. There are thousands of lives that rely on order being kept. Thousands more balancing on a knife’s edge, as the war draws close… It was something that my father understood and something that I’m beginning to understand.” He stepped out of the light, moving to get his whiskey. “He understood that he needed to be hated. To be feared. In order to save the lives of our people. It’s a burden that we have to bear.”

“From the way she tells it, you’re just doing what you think your father would have done. Maybe you need to ask yourself if you’re doing what’s best for you, or what’s actually the best thing for everyone else.”

“I’m doing what's best for the people. Even if they don't believe it. I'm not a factor when I weigh up what needs to be done. I can't be one.”

“Well, you could have fooled me.” With a sigh, she smacks her hands on her thighs, standing and going to the door. “Goodnight Sederis.”

He took a swig of his whiskey and sighed. “What do you see then?” He said. “If you don’t believe a word that I’ve said- what do you think?”

“Well, I think Lirelle is right, to a point. You think you’re better off if you try to be like your father, you put him on a pedestal because you think he knew what he was doing. That might have been true in his time, but this is now. You are not him. You are Sederis Emberheart, the boy that I grew up with who used to love getting in the mud, who would put crabs down the back of Lirelle’s dress and was always kind to the people here. You need to see past your father’s shadow, past the shadow of the conflicts you think are brewing, and make the choices that you think are right. By your standards, not his.”

Sederis laughed. It was a sad and pathetic thing. “I tried,” he said as his laughter gave way to despair. Resting the bottle of whiskey in his lap, he looked at Nyrexis with tear filled eyes. “I tried. I really did. When I first reclaimed the place that was waiting for me, that’s exactly what I did. I raised the conscription age to seventeen, to give the would-be-soldiers a childhood. I gathered the lowborns and created the council in Kearn- The first council of its kind in the Emberglades- to give voice to the common folk. I wanted to do good. I really did…” His sentence trailed off and his gaze fell to his feet. “I came back because I wanted to help. But sometimes you can’t have what you want.

“I’m going to tell you a story, Ny. One I have never told anyone. And if the war that’s coming is as bad as I think it’ll be, I’ll probably never tell this again. But the reason I came back, made peace with my past, and claimed the title I was born to; wasn’t because I wanted to take up my father’s bloody legacy. It was because I wanted to protect people.

It must be three winters back now. I was in Northrend, serving under Felthier Truefeather. We were there to stop yet another army of the dead. There was one week where the weather was particularly bad, so bad in fact, that even the dead couldn’t continue their assault. They’d just freeze solid under the snow. But though the fighting stopped, the dying didn’t. You see, the dead had wiped out every village east of where we were stationed, and there were thousands of refugees. Hungry, exhausted, souls without places to stay as the blizzard buried us all. I remember, all I did that week was chop lumber. I chopped and I chopped till my hands bled because it was the only thing I could do to keep them alive. Every evening, I’d distribute the wood I managed to collect for the day and every evening, fewer and fewer families would show up. I’d find them later, frozen or starved to death in the back streets of town. So by the time the weather cleared and we returned to duty, less than half the refugees remained. I remember thinking to myself- If only I had a ship, or the gold to hire a ship, they didn’t have to die. If only I had more power. I could have saved them. Perhaps then I’d have them evacuated to the Eastern Kingdoms, or shipped in food from the Glades. But all I had were my hands. Bloody and useless as they were.”

Sederis lifted his bottle of whiskey, took a good long look at it and then put it away. There was no escaping his misery now. “When I became Lord of the Emberglades I quickly learned that even power can’t save the helpless. All you can do is prepare, and protect. Making sure that it never gets to that state in the first place. So now, whenever I think of giving up on it all- that perhaps it’ll be better if I just let the Lordlings fight amongst themselves like they always have- that perhaps I should just let them surrender to the Alliance- I think of the families I saw, huddle together in death. Dead in some back alley no one knows the name of. And then I remember that I swore I’d never let that happen to my people. Not on my watch.”

“Then why doesn't it show through in the things you do Sederis? Everything you've done, surely someone must have told you it would hurt them more in the long run? Even you can see enough that it has. Maybe that's what you had in mind but you've lost sight of that Sederis.”

“Because this world had other plans. I can’t raise the age of conscription when we’re about to be dragged into another war that’s likely to come to our shores. I can’t have a council of when it’s going to sell out their own people the moment an occupying force arrives. And I can’t do any of these things without angering half my subjects, not when they break with thousands of years of violent tradition and history. Maybe in a better world, a more just world, my intentions and actions would align and I could invite my people to live better lives. Lives without the need of war, or fear. But this isn’t a better world. In this one, I rule warmongers and tyrants in an age of perpetual war. If I don’t hurt them now, there might not be a long run. So this is the best I can do.”

“And this is your best? Crushing the powerless and propping up the warmongers and tyrants?”

“It’s either that or plunging the Emberglades into civil war.”

“And so you’d rather let them hold your people hostage.” She gave him a look of intense disappointment.

“What would you have me do then?” Sederis sneered, clenching his fists. Fresh anger rushed through him for the first time in months.

“Stop being your father.” She glared at him with a cold and deadly calm. “Stop being ruled by fear and circumstance just like he was. You said you wanted to help the people? So help them. You are Sederis Emberheart, you are the Lord of the Emberglades, start acting like it. Strip these Lordlings of their titles, give their lands to those who value lasting peace. If there was a grain of truth to anything you just told me, and you’re truly here to better the lives of your people, then, unlike your father, the people will rally behind you regardless of what happens. If what you said wasn’t just you lying to yourself, then you came to power to stop the warmongers and tyrants. Don’t be one.”

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@forever-afk @retributionpriest @thanidiel @stormandozone @thenaaru @dorksworn

[entergamingxp]

Red Dead Redemption’s Greatest Triumphs Are Its Tragedies

May 18, 2020 10:00 AM EST

10 years later, Red Dead Redemption remains one of Rockstar’s best games yet by crafting a world drenched in the cycle of revenge.

When I think back on the first time that I played through Red Dead Redemption, the two things that usually come to mind for me are the beginning and closing scenes of John Marston’s story. When we first meet John in the opening of Red Dead, he embarks by train to enact revenge against the gang members that betrayed him in his outlaw life, coerced by the law in exchange for the safety of his family. From the start, John’s hands are tied not just by government agents, but also by a life that he has never been able to fully escape. It’s fitting that by the final scene of his story, John winds up caught between these two forces and meets his infamous demise in a one-sided shootout against a squad of government agents, or to an extent, agents of fate that are acting out the consequences of his former life.

What has stood out to me about these two scenes in Red Dead is how they act as bookends not only to John’s search for redemption, but to its core theme of the cycle of revenge. Even without its roots in the Western genre, there is the immediate sense in Red Dead Redemption that John’s story will almost certainly have a tragic end. It’s safe to say that it might be one that John may have deserved, and that he got what was coming to him. But by Red Dead Redemption‘s conclusion, it becomes even clearer that revenge is a cycle that few can ever escape out of, and that it merely changes hands from those looking to carry it out.

“Even without its roots in the Western genre, there is the immediate sense in Red Dead Redemption that John’s story will almost certainly have a tragic end.”

Today marks the tenth anniversary of Red Dead Redemption, a fact that I definitely had to come to terms with while writing this. I can more or less remember when I was playing Red Dead for the first time while I was in college, and that feels like a lifetime ago now in our current pandemic sense of time. But to me, that only speaks to how Red Dead has left a lasting legacy not only as one of my personal favorite games ever, but to a story and world that has only continued to resonate with me ten years later. Red Dead‘s story is certainly far from a happy one, but it is by far a meaningful and important one.

Released on May 18, 2010 for the PS3 and Xbox 360, Red Dead Redemption came just two years after Rockstar Games released Grand Theft Auto IV, its sprawling and (at the time) most extensive open-world experience yet. While Red Dead Redemption was the spiritual “sequel” to 2004’s Red Dead Revolver, ultimately it shared much more in common with the Grand Theft Auto series by translating its deep open-world systems to the vast plains of the Wild West. The hallmarks of GTA definitely made their way into Red Dead in terms of how its open-world was designed, and you can feel how Rockstar managed to tune its combat mechanics to better suit horses and revolvers rather than sports cars and automatic weapons.

What truly set Red Dead Redemption apart from Rockstar’s flagship series was storytelling, which provided an interesting parallel to its predecessor. Where GTAIV focused on Niko Bellic, an Eastern European immigrant chasing the American Dream in Liberty City, Red Dead‘s story acted almost in opposition to it through John’s struggle to escape the outlaw life that he once knew. GTAIV was viewing American life and its love of capitalism through a satirical lens, while Red Dead Redemption stripped away the satire and exposed those elements of American callousness in its raw form.

“Red Dead Redemption lent itself to a heightened storytelling experience for Rockstar that was able to get its point across without being hinged on satire and cynicism.”

Red Dead Redemption to me felt like the game that Rockstar really “grew up” with. As much as I’ve appreciated the Grand Theft Auto games over the years, by design their worlds are meant to be playgrounds where players can test the limits of how much anarchy and chaos they can create. Though GTAIV (and later GTAV) would begin moving the series in a more serious direction, to me Red Dead Redemption lent itself to a heightened storytelling experience for Rockstar that was able to get its point across without being hinged on satire and cynicism.

The story of John Marston and his search for the remaining members of the van der Linde gang took on much more personal and emotional stakes than what we’ve seen in Rockstar’s past games. While we wouldn’t know what really happened between John and the gang until Red Dead Redemption 2 arrived in 2018, Red Dead Redemption‘s story of revenge was one that had me invested in seeing John’s journey through to the very end. However, what I didn’t expect to see was how John would be the only character that would become such an engaging, tragic figure.

“Red Dead Redemption gave us a world that by Rockstar’s standards had never felt more alive and human, as tragic as it is.”

Nearly all of the characters in Red Dead Redemption are bound by tragedies from their past, which would only become clearer once Red Dead Redemption 2 showed us the other side of how these characters came to be. Both of these games provided the full circle of these characters’ tragic pasts and futures, and in doing so made them far more human and relatable than I could have expected. Seeing how John wound up on the path towards righteousness and a decent life only made his eventual fate that much more heartbreaking, especially with the involvement of Arthur Morgan. Dutch van der Linde, the true “villain” of Red Dead Redemption, becomes someone far more sympathetic in Red Dead Redemption 2 once you understand his rationale and how he started out. Bonnie and Sadie especially find themselves on a path towards vengeance after the loss of their loved ones, but not without having to make sacrifices to survive and lose parts of themselves in the process.

All of these characters wind up having their lives inexorably changed by the events of their past, even if they chased the outlaw life with the best intentions behind them. Whether it was for family, for love, or for freedom, what Red Dead Redemption achieved was creating a world where actions did have consequences, and where the past would eventually catch up with those trying to escape from it. Even in the epilogue section of Red Dead, where an older Jack Marston avenges his father by killing Edgar Ross, there is the feeling that this cycle of revenge has yet to be undone.

Red Dead Redemption has and always will be a game that is special to me. Even ten years later, its rich world and visuals continue to be one of the defining open-world experiences that I have ever played, and Red Dead Redemption 2 only elevated its sense of a world for players to get immersed in. I can’t listen to Jose Gonzalez’s “Far Away” without being transported to when John rides out to Mexico, still one of those few musical moments in games that is virtually perfect. Like the Spaghetti Western films that it was so heavily influenced by, Red Dead showed us a world that was bloody and ruthless, where the law and outlaws were sometimes one in the same, and where the good guy in this story was very much one with a questionable past.

But more importantly, Red Dead Redemption continues to stand out to me for the boldness of its storytelling, and for creating a world and characters bound by tragedy that had me hooked from the moment that John first stepped into Blackwater. Though a lot has changed in open-world games in the ten years since it released, Red Dead Redemption gave us a world that by Rockstar’s standards had never felt more alive and human, as tragic as it is.

May 18, 2020 10:00 AM EST

from EnterGamingXP https://entergamingxp.com/2020/05/red-dead-redemptions-greatest-triumphs-are-its-tragedies/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=red-dead-redemptions-greatest-triumphs-are-its-tragedies

[tvdversefanfiction]

The Originals: Always and Forever (Season 6)

Episode 1 - What We Did In The Shadows

Warnings: I do not own the original content to “The Originals”, “The Vampire Diaries” or “Legacies” or any of the characters from the television shows.

15 plus, displays of Violence, Gore, Torture, M/M, F/M, F/F.

The end was supposed to be the simplest thing Klaus and Elijah Mikaelson ever had to do in order to defeat the hollow once and for all Klaus had to die and due to their ever co-dependent relationship Elijah decided to die alongside his vampire/werewolf hybrid younger brother both believing that their deaths would be the end of their stories but death is never the end it’s simply just a new beginning especially in a world where nobody stays dead for long but before they could even fathom returning from the land of the living they had to escape where they were first and before they could escape where they were they had to first work out where they were.

It didn’t take long for either Klaus or Elijah to work out their existence was not of the afterlife nor the peace kind as they learned while in a world which was the exact replica of New Orleans that they were well and truly alone or so this is what they were led to believe while they co-existed with each other until one day Elijah came across another spirit in the form of a face from his past.

Klaus stood on the balcony outside of his bedroom in this dimension’s version of The Abattoir looking down on the completely empty French Quarter which gave him nothing but misery as he drank a glass of whisky before Elijah vamp sped onto to the balcony with a glass of whisky also as he stood by his brother’s side.

“Not quite what I expected for our after lives, but I suppose it’s still better than the idea of hell itself.” Elijah said to his brother before taking a sip of his drink.

“Did I not tell you the story of how Bonnie Bennet destroyed hell?” Klaus replied to his brother with a sly smirk on his face. “There’s no hell for us to reside in although being tortured in the flames of hell would be an upgrade from utter nothingness.”

“I quite enjoy the peace and quiet around here brother, but I suspect it will get tiresome eventually.” Elijah admitted.

“Try being stuck here for a thousand years with nothing but yourself for company and some very different scenery.” Tatia shouted them after vamp speeding on to the streets of the French Quarter standing beneath the balcony in which the two brothers stood.

“You’ve got to be bloody kidding me of all the after lives you just had to hunt me down.” Klaus shouted back at her, mistaking Tatia Petrova for her doppelganger Katerina Petrova otherwise known as Katherine Pierce.

“Niklaus do the math she said she’s been here for a thousand years.” Elijah told his brother as he stared down at Tatia looking like he had just seen a ghost, which he had.

“Tatia Petrova.” Klaus uttered in total shock to see her after a thousand years.

“I’ll meet you downstairs boys we have a lot to discuss.” Tatia responded before vamp speeding out of sight as Klaus and Elijah followed suit.

All three of them vamp sped next to the fountain within the compound roughly at the same time but if we’re being pernickety it was Tatia, then Klaus then Elijah in that order.

“How is this even possible?” Elijah asked her. “You died a thousand years ago.”

“I’ll answer your question in a moment Elijah but not before you answer mine.” Tatia replied to him. “How did you change the location of this prison world?”

“Prison world...” Klaus said as he rolled his eyes. “Great we’re in a bloody prison world.”

“You boys don’t even know where you are.” Tatia sighed clearly disappointed to realize they were more clueless than her. “I had hoped you’d have some way of getting out of this wretched place considering in a thousand years it hadn’t changed till now, but I guess I’m just supposed to be pleased with company after all this time.”

“Tatia how did you end up here?” Elijah quizzed her eagerly. “Why didn’t you find peace?”

“Do you remember when we first met how I told you both the story of how I was meant to die with my husband, yet I refused?” Tatia began to explain her circumstances. “Well I made sure the moment you and your siblings turned to find out all I could about what you had turned into. I went to Ayanna to consort the spirits fearing use would one day turn on me which you did Elijah.”

“I don’t understand if Ayanna put you here why didn’t she tell you how to get back?” Klaus wondered.

“Because Ayanna never put me here Esther did.” Tatia revealed much to the Mikaelson brother’s surprise.

“I didn’t want to be some trophy to Esther’s spells any longer especially after she did what she did to you Niklaus.” Tatia admitted while her, Klaus and Elijah stood in the compound. “Ayanna was told of how the blood of an original could make another undead like them, but I was never sure it would work however I knew I had to be safe for the sake of my son.”

“My greatest shame has always been what I did to you.” Elijah replied with a sense of sadness in his eyes.

“I awoke shortly after dying as an undead only for Esther to dump me here stating it was some kind of lesson for her children on how to learn to behave with their newfound lust.” Tatia continued to explain. “She threw me into this world with her spells without a thought about me or my son and then she told me she would return but she never did.”

“Our mother has committed many heinous crimes in her time but dumping you in a prison to teach us how to behave like she was taking away our toys has to be up there.” Elijah said to her, guilty of how his mother’s treatment towards his first love.

“She told me she was going to help you all control your blood-lust and then she’d come back for me that she was merely protecting me but I knew the minute she wouldn’t let my me take my child that she was never coming back for me.” Tatia admitted.

“So, this world changed when we arrived?” Klaus asked her. “What was it like before?”

“Like home and now I guess this is the home you and your siblings built for each other.” She answered him while looking around the compound. “I had hoped it would be a sign of escaping this place, but I suppose I probably should’ve given up hope by now.”

Suddenly the entire compound began shaking viciously much to Klaus, Tatia and Elijah’s surprise before the nearby windows exploded by the pressure as the three of them fell to the ground unable to keep their balance any longer as the world began spinning before their very eyes until they found themselves lying on the ground within the woods deep within the bayou much to their surprise as the hollow herself Inadu appeared from behind the trees.

“Did you think I’d just accept death easily?” Inadu asked Elijah and Klaus as Klaus, Tatia and Elijah rose to their feet. “I just jumped into the nearest prison world available although I didn’t expect you both to join me here.”

Elijah vamp sped towards the hollow witch who raised her hand and magically snapped his neck causing him to fumble to the ground unconscious before even getting near here as Tatia followed suit by being the next to vamp speed towards Inadu who again magically snapped her neck and last but definitely not least Klaus vamp sped over to Inadu but this time managed to get next to right up to her and snap her neck with his bare hands.

“Come back from that you bloody bitch.” Klaus said furiously before turning around to check on Elijah and Tatia kneeling towards them with one hand on each of them trying to shake them back away unaware of the rules of this prison world and whether or not they’d even awake when suddenly he felt the wind picking up before he once again disappeared with Tatia and Elijah, this time Inadu’s lifeless body disappeared with them.

Elijah, Tatia and Klaus found themselves all awake and standing side by side in the same white hall that was once the location of Elijah’s subconscious following his first death at the hands of the hollow as they looked around seeing nothing but a never ending hallway with endless ancient brown doors on each side of the hallway as Esther walked out of one of them much to their surprise.

“You treacherous bitch!” Tatia screamed at her instantly before vamp speeding over to attack the Mikaelson mother only for Tatia’s neck to be magically snapped for a second time, this time by Esther.

“There’s no need for profanity.” Esther said as Tatia’s unconscious body fell to the ground. “Not when I’m here to help this time.”

“You made me believe I killed her.” Elijah snapped at his mother. “You made me believe I was to blame for her death.”

“To be fair my dear Elijah you did kill her it’s just as we all know death is rarely the end for anyone.” Esther explained to her noble son.

“Where the bloody hell are, we now and why the bloody hell are you here?” Klaus snapped at his mother.

“You were in a prison world that I created with the help of the Gemini coven and when they heard of Inadu’s escape into they were waiting for the chance to grab her so they can finally make the hollow pay for her many sins.” Esther revealed to her sons. “Once they grabbed her I decided to grab you and take you this world that I have been forced to make my home I guess out of all the prison worlds I am lucky enough not to be a version of hell.”

“What do you mean a version of hell?” Klaus asked his mother, confused as to his knowledge there was only one hell and Bonnie Bennet had already destroyed it.

“Trust me that’s a long story for another time my boys and you’ve already wasted too much time between worlds as it is.” Esther told them before going on to say. “All the acts I committed against you and my siblings acts no mother should commit and all because I thought you were all beyond redemption and I was horribly wrong.”

“Forgive me if we don’t give a damn whether you’re sorry or not.” Elijah snapped at Esther.

“And forgive us if we would rather do anything else other than spend all of eternity with you.” Klaus piped in.

“I only brought you here briefly before I brought use back, I figured it was the least I could after all the times I tried to kill you both.” Esther revealed to her sons. “And before you worry the hollow is being dealt with so she will no longer be a worry for you.”

“You want to resurrect us,” Klaus scoffed. “All those times you wanted us dead and now you finally decide to bring us back.”

“Actually, it was more my idea than your mother’s, but she was more than willing to accompany me.” Dahlia admitted as she appeared out of the same door that Esther had just come through. “Don’t get me wrong I will stand here and weep like your mother and apologize for acts I’m not sorry for but I will admit there’s a reason I want you both to return to the land of the living.”

“Klaus you have a granddaughter now.” Esther revealed to a stunned Klaus. “Your daughter Hope and her wife Josie Saltzman had a child together using their joint ex Landon Kirby as their sperm donor and Hope carried the child making her biological a first born Mikaelson.”

“Your lying Hope’s only 15 years old.” Klaus snapped in disbelief of his mother’s words.

“Actually she’s not well at least not this time you’re granddaughter is somewhat unruly with the darkness that comes with being a first born Mikaelson witch along with all the other genetics she got from both parents and whereas Freya helped Hope there is no one to help Hope’s child.” Dahlia continued to explain.

“Why where is Hope?” Elijah asked her, scared to know the answer as Klaus just stood there in shock.

“She found peace with her wife Josie just like Freya found peace with Keelin.” Esther replied with a sadness on her face. “All taken before their team but luckily they have an eternity of peace and Hope is happy with her wife Josie and her mother Hayley.”

“My daughter is dead?” Klaus asked in shock as tears began forming in his eyes, struggling to accept his sacrifice for his daughter wound up in vain or at least that’s how he saw it in that moment.

“Kirby needs someone and quite frankly my time adopting, and kidnapping is well and truly over.” Dahlia told both Mikaelson brothers as Elijah stood in shock while tears began to far down Klaus’ cheeks as he began mourning his daughter.

“So, you want us to go back to help Klaus’ granddaughter?” Elijah asked them both.

“Yes, we could’ve probably chose someone else, but your mother pushed for the two of you.” Dahlia admitted.

“What about Rebekah and Kol?” Klaus cried, fearing about hearing of more deaths within his family.

“Their still very much alive but with Rebekah waiting to take the cure, Nik struggling with his own issues and Kol completely off the rails since his wife’s death there’s nobody left for your granddaughter Klaus.” Esther revealed to him. “Hope would want no she would demand that you accept this her daughter meant the world to her.”

“Davina’s dead too poor Kol no wonder he went off the rails.” Klaus said sympathizing with his brother while struggling to cope with all the recent revelations.

“Who the bloody hell is Nik and what issues does he have?” Elijah asked.

“Nik Malraux-Mikaelson is the child of Freya and Keelin.” Dahlia replied to Elijah. “Now are you accepting this fate or not? I have an after life to get to before they realize, I’m not currently in my own prison world.”

“I guess I have no choice,” Klaus said while drying his tears. “I will not allow my granddaughter to suffer the same fate as my daughter, if only I was there to save Hope none of this wouldn’t happen.”

“I’ll only go back if Tatia’s brought with us.” Elijah demanded while looking down at an unconscious Tatia before looking at his mother. “You already stole so much from her as did I she deserves this.”

“Very well.” Dahlia said before chanting in Croatian and waving her hand causing Klaus, Tatia and Elijah to instantly disappear out of sight.

“I just hope they’re better as raising a child than I was.” Esther admitted to Dahlia as only the two of them remained.

“They already are sister not after all you were never really born to be a mother I for one can testify to that.” Dahlia cruelly replied to her sister.

It had been many years since the fall of Klaus and Elijah Mikaelson and within that time a lot had changed throughout the world especially amongst the family they had left behind in their wake.

Rebekah Mikaelson and Marcel Gerard

They had lived a happy life for many years but it soon become clear to Marcel that he would one day lose Rebekah to the cure and a human life leading to the two of them eventually breaking up as the girl who loved too easily didn’t make it down the aisle once more.

Freya Mikaelson and Keelin Malraux-Mikaelson

The married couple went along with their plans to have a child with their friend and former New Orleans recent Vincent Griffiths giving birth to a baby boy they named Nik after the infamous Klaus Mikaelson. Freya, Keelin and their son lived a happy life for many years until Freya and Keelin fell victim to vengeful witches leading to Nik Malraux-Mikaelson dedicating his life to finding and killing those witches seeking revenge for the death of his mothers.

Kol Mikaelson and Davina Claire-Mikaelson

Their epic love remained strong for many years as they continued their marital life in San Francisco until Davina was taken from Kol in after a tragic fire in their apartment building where Davina burned trying to save as many of her neighbors while Kol was away visiting his sister Rebekah. Davina’s death took a huge toll on him leading to the youngest surviving Mikaelson brother going completely off the rails.

Hope Mikaelson and Josie Saltzman-Mikaelson

Following the events in Legacies Hope later married the love of her life Josie Saltzman who just so happened to be her father Klaus’ former lover Caroline Forbes’ daughter which was nowhere near as complicated for the two as deciding for Landon Kirby to be the sperm donor for the child they had together, complication being Landon was both Hope’s ex and Josie’s at different stages in their life. Hope gave birth to her and Josie’s daughter Kirby Saltzman-Mikaelson and raised her together for a while before they too met a terrible fate before finding peace together after their deaths.

Klaus, Tatia and Elijah found themselves reappearing within the very same spot that Klaus and Elijah ended their lives within New Orleans all three completely confused by the series of events which had them to this here, once against the living.

“Elijah, where are we now?” Tatia asked him.

“It’s a long story I guess I should probably start with the first 100 years after your death.” Elijah explained to her before Klaus vamp sped away from the two of them.

Klaus continued to vamp speed through the streets of New Orleans until he reached his beloved compound vamp speeding straight in eager to be reunited with whatever family remained there.

“Rebekah!” He shouted as he vamp sped through the compound finding nobody there. “Kol!”

Much to Klaus’ dismay not only was nobody home but it looked like it had been nobody’s home for a long time sure he was given a brief update on the family he left behind but what both his mother and his aunt forgot to tell them was where the bloody hell everyone who still remained actually were.

[theworkofxanderking]

Dracula: The Originals (Fanfic)

Chapter One: Resting Place

Warnings: I do not own the original content to “The Originals”, “The Vampire Diaries” or “Legacies” or any of the characters from the television shows.

15 plus, displays of Violence, Gore, Torture, M/M, F/M, F/F.

Transylvania, 5th June 1473

The Original family of vampires: Klaus, Elijah, Rebekah and Kol had found themselves fleeing from a small village in Transylvania after their ruthless father Mikael had once again tracked them down.

After narrowly escaping with their lives in town the four Mikaelson siblings had found themselves wandering through seemingly endless woods until days later finding a castle on a hill.

The four of them vamp sped to the top of the mountain until they were on the grounds of Bran Castle standing just outside as they examined the castle desperate for some shelter and ravenous for whoever lived inside’s blood.

Klaus found it strange how his vamp hearing couldn’t pick up a single sound coming from within the castle, Rebekah noticed that the castle had clearly fallen savage to a recent war, Elijah wondered where all the staff of this castle were assuming the place was abandoned and Kol wasted no time or caution before vamp speeding his way into the castle only to be stopped by a man appearing from out of nowhere or so it seemed.

The impressively tall man dressed all in black wearing a black top hat and a black scarf to hide his face just stood in front of Kol unwavering while Kol showed his vamp face in a bid to scare the man who just stood there looking at the original vampire with a dead glare in his eyes.

“We’re not here to create any chaos for you or the master which resides within this castle we are merely looking for a place of rest following days of endless travelling.” Elijah said to the mysterious stranger while walking to stand by Kol’s side.

“I on the other hand also wouldn’t say no to some hot water and a warm bed whether you want my brothers to sleep outside like the animals they are is up to you and your master I honestly don’t mind.” Rebekah replied as she walked over to stand next to Elijah and Kol.

“Let me make myself very clear you are going to let us in, or I will personally see to the demise of you and everyone you know.” Klaus warned the unwavering man as her marched over to be beside his siblings.

The Mikaelson’s were quickly shocked to hear the loud screams of a woman in a typical horrific fashion while the unwavering man stood still in front of him acting as if he hadn’t heard a thing.

“My master will see you now.” The unwavering man finally uttered.

The door closed behind the four Mikaelson’s siblings upon walking into Bran Castle only for the four of them to turn around out of surprise by the large door shutting only to no longer see any sight of the unwavering man who was holding the door for them just minutes ago.

“This better not be another bloody haunted castle,” Rebekah moaned as they continued walking through the castle. “Spirits can be so inconsiderate of one’s need to get some much-needed sleep.”

“Please don’t tell me that my sister the immortal being is afraid of a spirit or two.” Klaus mocked her as the four of them walked through the foyer of the castle.

“More like I don’t want anything waking me from my slumber anytime sooner than needed after days of running from our father once again.” Rebekah snapped back at her brother.

“On the contrary there are no spirits lurking around my castle,” Said the man sitting at the dining table holding a chalet of wine in a Hungarian accent as the Mikaelson siblings walked into the castle’s dining area. “Spirits have a tendency of avoiding my humble home although I see you four have no such tendencies.”

“You must be the master of this incredible castle.” Elijah greeted him as the Hungarian accented man rose from his chair showing himself to have long jet-black hair dressed all in black with a robe around his shoulders. “We were hoping for you to spare some rooms for us while we rest from our travels.”

“Clearly none of you are from around here,” The man replied while walking towards the siblings. “If you were you would never have come here, I am considered somewhat as a troublesome character among the locals.”

“The same would be said by the locals of my homeland if I didn’t kill them all.” Klaus said with a sinister sense of pride causing the mysterious stranger to reply in response.

“You’re a lively one considering you’re not quite amongst the living.” The stranger said to Klaus. “You’re not quite spirits either you must be the undead.”

“We’re the original undead.” Kol boasted.

“Yes, you are,” The stranger responded with a smile. “And I am Count Dracula it truly is a pleasure to be in the company of the original family of the undead.”

“Does that mean a yes to bedding us all for the night or do we have to murder you before getting some sleep?” Rebekah asked eagerly.

“Well I don’t quite know about bedding you all,” Dracula replied with a smirk. “However, I will provide rooms for you all to rest I just ask one favour in return.”

“Yeah we’re not exactly in the favour granting business whether you’re a Count or not.” Klaus snapped at him.

“Klaus!” Elijah snapped at his younger brother. “There is no need for our stay here to be unpleasant.”

“And what do tell is the favour?” Kol asked the count.

“If you chose to feed from my brides make sure to leave them unmarked so to speak.” Dracula requested.

Rebekah walked into a fancy Gothic bedroom within Bran Castle that felt like it had picked her instead of her choosing it only for her to notice the bed in which she quickly vamp sped over to and threw herself down on.

“I don’t care how haunted this bloody castle might be the bed is simply divine.” She uttered to herself.

“Don’t get too comfortable Rebekah I have a feeling there’s something shifty about this Count Dracula.” Klaus uttered after vamp speeding into his sister’s room. “Besides what kind of name is Dracula?”

“Brother, I don’t bloody care about your growing paranoia I deserve this sleep and you will not ruin it for me.” Rebekah demanded. “Besides Niklaus it’s not like any of us can be killed if he does intend anything sinister with us.”

“Did you hear when he said brides? How many brides must he have? And to offer them up as food so easily something is really strange about this place.” Klaus continued to say.

“Niklaus my eyes are closing I am away to sleep,” Rebekah stated before closing her eyes “Please take your conspiracies with you to another room and I’m sure if any sister Count disturbs me from my sleep I’ll have no trouble ripping his bloody head off now go before I chose for you to meet that fate instead.”

“Very well Rebekah.” Klaus said with a sigh before vamp speeding out of her room.

Klaus vamp sped from out of Rebekah’s bedroom and into the never-ending hallways of Bran Castle only to be stopped in his tracks by Dracula who had seemed to be waiting for him.

“That’s an intriguing little trick you can do almost like magic although magic itself is more than tricks.” Dracula said to him as he placed his hand on the wall of the corridor. “It is said that these very walls are filled with magic.”

“I’m growing very tired of your mystique.” Klaus said before grabbing Dracula by the throat. “I think it’s time for me to quench my first.”

Dracula placed his hand on the hand Klaus was choking him with as his hand went red and he began magically siphoning from the original vampire causing Klaus to fall to his knees in the process.

“I suppose these walls aren’t the only thing filled with magic.” Dracula said with a sinister laugh before disappearing from thin air.

“Bloody witches.” Klaus shouted. “I’m going to kill him!”

“Oh, Niklaus what have you done now?” Elijah asked as he vamp sped his way into the corridors instantly assuming his brother was up to no good.

“I cannot believe you’ve already upset our host I suppose one night free of your constant paranoia is just too much to ask for.” Rebekah snapped at Klaus while herself, Klaus and Elijah walked down the never-ending corridors with the only light now coming from the candle in which Elijah was holding.

“I was merely going for a little bite when the witch came for me.” Klaus replied. “I did say we should’ve just killed whoever resided in this castle and then by now we would all be sleeping blissfully.”

“Enough of your bickering we need to find Kol and inform him that Niklaus has turned our safe haven into another war-zone.” Elijah said to them both as they continued to walk through the corridors of the dark castle.

“I do not care for the implementation in which this fiasco is in any way of my own doing.” Klaus stated. “It is my siblings who seemed to be willing to seek refuge anywhere without analyzing the potential threat and I can’t be blamed for that idiocy.”

“Oh, bloody hell Niklaus we all knew this Count Dracula was a loathsome character some of us just didn’t care I mean after all I am forced to endure you for an eternity on the run from our wretched father.” Rebekah moaned. “We will simply murder Dracula, feast on his brides and then I can finally get some rest before we return to the running.”

“I find myself agreeing with Rebekah,” Elijah admitted. “Which must mean I too am in serious need for a resting place.”

“These bloody hallways seem to go on forever,” Klaus snapped. “We’re never going to find Kol at this rate.”

“The lucky sod has probably found some slumber.” Rebekah retorted.

Kol Mikaelson found himself awaking from his slumber to find three beautiful women: one blonde, one brunette and one redhead all in white nightgowns at the end of the bed crawling their way upwards while kissing his body causing him to groan in pleasure.

“I’m guessing you beautiful women must be the gushing brides.” Kol said as the three women began kissing his neck causing him to groan louder. “I must remember to thank Dracula for such warm hospitality.”

The three women ripped his top open with their hands revealing Kol’s impressive and chiselled chest before their hands turned read and they began siphoning the very magic inside of him causing Kol’s groans to turn from anything but pleasure.

“I like it as rough as the next bedfellow, but this is becoming a little too painful even for me.” Kol gushed before the blonde hair beauty said something in Croatian and magically snapped the original vampire’s neck causing him to lay there lifeless on the bed.

“Did you have to do that so soon I was just beginning to enjoy myself?” The brunette beauty asked the blonde bride.

“We’re here to gather his blood not his juices.” The blonde bride bluntly replied.

“Girls let’s not get ourselves undone over yet another man,” The redheaded bride moaned while rolling her eyes. “Let us just do what we came here for and then return to our cunning groom.”

Elijah found himself continuing to walk through the dark and dusty castle for what seemed like forever only to realize after quite some time had passed that neither Rebekah or Klaus had bickered towards each other in quite some time forcing him to look around with only the candle he was holding keeping him from utter darkness only to realize none of his siblings were anywhere to be seen.

He then decided to vamp speed through the corridors only to find himself further and further down the never-ending hallway before finally stopping at a red door which instantly had him nervous by the mere sight of it.

Elijah stood there examining the red door as he pushed his trembling hand towards it’s handle before he saw a flash of his lost love Tatia’s face before hearing loud screams coming from the corridor instantly forcing him to look away from the door only for the door to be replaced with more wall when he looked back.

In that moment he realized Klaus was right about Count Dracula being a witch, but it was the castle itself that seemed to hold some truly remarkable magic.

Klaus had found himself walking down the stairs leading towards the dining area of Bran Castle where he had previously been earlier that night only to find Dracula sat there once again drinking from a chalet.

“I’ve heard many stories about the undead from the many visitors to my castle, but I must admit you more than live up to the stories.” Dracula said as Klaus vamp sped his way downstairs to be standing in front of Dracula. “It’s a shame you are so determined on making me an enemy Niklaus because I do believe you and I could be considered kindred spirits.”

“You really are a mad man, aren’t you?” Klaus laughed as Dracula stood up to face him.

“Aren’t you?” Dracula replied with a smile. “Like you I was shunned by the very witches that created me purely because they saw my existence as an abomination to nature. You see I don’t harness any magic of my own instead I have to siphon it from objects and others when I get the chance.”

“If you think I’m going to grant you life because of some sad origin story then you clearly weren’t listening to the stories very well.” Klaus snapped.

“Oh, quite the contrary I am an expert listener.” Dracula admitted. “You too are a creature of darkness, shrouded in death and despair forced to face the monster within just to survive the brewing storms that come your way. I have longed to meet someone else who could truly understand me, and I believe you have too.”

Before Klaus could respond to Dracula’s words Dracula had gently kissed him on the lips before pulling back waiting for Klaus’ consent to continue and after seconds of waiting Klaus smiled back at the siphoner witch before pulling Dracula in towards him as the pair began passionately kissing and tearing each other’s clothes.

Rebekah found herself furthering her way down a narrow staircase located somewhere within Bran Castle uncertain of how or when she got there but beginning to hear louder and louder whispers saying kill me and help me as she continued walking down the stairs until eventually she found herself in a dungeon of sorts underneath Dracula’s castle only to be left horrified by what she discovered.

Women and men who had clearly been starved were chained up to the walls with the horrifying smell of death and decaying lingering throughout the room as Rebekah realized these people were the ones whispering for her help.

“What the bloody hell is going on here?” She asked as she wandered through the dungeon noticing the prisoners who were still among the living wouldn’t be for much longer. “There’s no marks, wounds or bruises how any of this is even possible?”

“Please end our misery!” One pleaded as Rebekah realized that death was the only gift, she could deliver to them, the only thing that would spare them from the pain they were continuing to endure at the hands of Count Dracula.

Elijah eventually made it out of the endless corridors dazed and confused as night had turned into day and made his way down the staircase leading to the dining area of Bran Castle only to find a half dressed Klaus asleep on the dining table quickly waking up to the sound of Elijah vamp speeding his way downstairs and into the dining room.

“What happened here?” Elijah asked as Klaus took himself off the table and looked around the castle dazed and confused

Before Klaus could even fathom a sentence together, he was thankfully interrupted by both Rebekah and Kol vamp speeding their way into the dining area and the attention quickly turning to Kol’s ripped shirt to which he had no desire of revealing how that came to be.

Having had dealt enough with strange encounters of the Transylvanian kind made vamp sped to the front door only to find themselves burned by the sunlight as the four of them sped back into different parts of the shadow filled castle.

“I don’t get it why would witches want our daylight rings.” Rebekah wondered while nursing her burns. “How did they even get them from us?”

“Because they’re not witches anymore.” Klaus responded with a wicked smile as he finally realized what Dracula was up to by inviting his family to stay the night.

The Mikaelson’s didn’t quite understood why witches would want to be vampires back then not realizing siphoners could be both and little did any of them realize that the myth turned to legend of Dracula’s origins were vital to their stay at Bran Castle.

This was only the beginning for the Mikaelson siblings and the infamous Count Dracula for he and his bewitching brides were destined to cross paths with the original vampires again.

[tvdversefanfiction]

Canary Carnage

Chapter Five: Black, White and Red All Over

Warnings: I don’t own any of the rights, content or characters belonging to any of the DC content I use within the story along with not owning any rights, content or characters within The Vampire Diaries, Originals or Legacies.

18 Rating: Moderate/Graphic displays of violence, sexual innuendos, sexually charged scenes, SMUT, strong language and potentially triggering scenes.

Pairings: M/M, F/F, M/F.

Lucas Lance had found himself in quite the dilemma while stuck in France with the original hybrid Klaus Mikaelson who intended to kill the Red Canary before either of them returned to New Orleans as he believed his siblings were taking care of Lucas’ siblings, not realizing how truly complicated that situation had become.

Lucas found himself speeding through the woods within the small town located somewhere in France having just released Elijah Mikaelson from the Hollow’s hold as he plotted to get back to the plane and threaten his way back to New Orleans before he crashed into Klaus who vamp sped in front of him causing the Red Canary to fall to the ground.

Before Lucas could use his canary cry against the original hybrid he had been pulled back up to his feet only to be thrown across the woods hitting a tree with force knocking him unconscious before his body hit the ground once more as Klaus began walking towards him, ready to kill the Red Canary only to find his own neck snapped as Elijah appeared behind him before dropping Klaus’ unconscious body to the ground.

When Elijah Mikaelson had his memory erased and his life changed forever he was set free from a thousand years of losses, betrayals and pain and although he no longer had the hollow inside of him he was still compelled, still free and not even remotely interested into being thrown back into the Mikaelson madness so he did what any reasonable amnesiac immortal would do when his past came knocking and kidnapped his brother Klaus Mikaelson and his frenemy Lucas Lance.

Together the original hybrid and the Red Canary had just slaughtered Elijah Mikaelson’s customers, colleagues and even some friends and with him only remembering them he wanted to seek revenge on the two monsters who had ruined his normal life not remembering harming family would be the last thing he’d normally do.

Elsewhere in New Orleans, Laurel Lance had sought out refuge for her and her undead sister Sara within Lafayette Cemetery with the witches having been granted access to the witches’ safe haven by the recently re-crowned regent Davina Claire who had only recently returned to the city after years away and wasted no time in striking up an alliance with the Black Canary having been informed from her father figure Marcel Gerard of how much carnage they had been creating for the Mikaelson’s, Klaus especially.

She understood Sara’s wishes to protect Lucas and how that led to murdering Freya Mikaelson who had once doomed Davina for a similar reason so Davina wasn’t particularly cut up about Freya’s fate and although she still had some unfinished business with Kol she had no love loss for Klaus or Elijah and had enough of staying away from her home, ready to take New Orleans by force one way or another.

It was Davina who informed Laurel that for Sara to complete her transition into becoming a vampire Sara would have to drink blood within the next 24 hours or she would become dead permanently and not in the undead way.

The only problem being that Sara Lance didn’t want to become a vampire which meant Laurel had little time to either convince her little sister or lose her all over again.

“I know that this means a lot of change and I don’t fully understand vampirism on this Earth, but I’d rather have you undead than just plain old dead.” Laurel admitted to Sara as the two canaries sat on a wall within Lafayette Cemetery, alone for the first time that day after seeking out wonder witch Davina for protection.

“I wasn’t killed by a Mikaelson Laurel, I was killed by a member of my former organisation which means they’ve followed meaning I’ve put you and Lucas in danger when that’s the last thing I wanted.” Sara revealed to the Black Canary. “This organisation will stop at nothing to kill me and whoever I’m near at least this way I die on my own terms.”

“In case you haven’t noticed but both Lucas and I have been in danger since day one on this Earth and I’m in danger every day back home fighting the good fight you never put us in anymore danger than either of us are use to.” Laurel told her little sister, trying to make it clear their current predicament wasn’t her fault. “So, what if this organisation wants you and Olly dead, we will take them out just like we’ll take out the Mikaelson’s if we have too.”

“Oliver was there.” Sara announced as she remembered in that moment, the entire events hazy to her due to her current state. “I think they took him somewhere let’s hope they’ve not found a way out of this Earth.”

“We’ll find your man,” Laurel said while rolling her eyes, unamused by Sara’s worry for the Green Arrow even if she too worried for her ex. “Thankfully we don’t have to wait till sunlight to go hunting with that magic sun ring Davina gave you. You just have to take the blood then we’ll wait for Lucas and the three canaries will take down this organisation of yours.”

“Laurel you have no idea what your trying to get yourself into not to mention neither of us even know if Lucas is still alive!” Sara snapped at her older sister as she stood up. “Let’s face that facts here big sis Lucas is more than likely dead and I’m going to be dead by the end of today the best you could do is get the hell out this city and find someway back to your own Earth.”

“No, I refuse to give up hope on either of you!” Laurel argued as she stood up to face her younger sister. “I gave up on you thinking you were dead and yet here you are I’m not going to give up on you again and I refuse to believe our brother is dead until proven otherwise. I’m not losing anymore family now stop this suicidal shit and take some god damn blood before I force feed you some of my own!”

“I guess all us Lance kids have changed over the years.” Sara replied to the Black Canary before taking in a big sigh, realizing two canaries were better than one especially as she wasn’t exactly herself right now. “What do you suggest we do?”

“We have a witch who can locate this organisation of yours and who knows if we talk nice enough she may also help us kill every last one of them they maybe some top assassins but their still human and have nothing on two scream queens and a wonder witch.” Laurel answered, making Sara realize Earth Blood had privileges their Earth never had. “We’ll save Olly and then find out where Lucas is and then we’ll turn our attention to the Mikaelson’s once again.”

“It’s not a terrible plan I must admit but we should probably take more than one witch.” Sara suggested. “As for Oliver and Lucas I really do hope their alive Laurel, but I have the worst feeling about today and it’s not just because I’m now a bloodsucker.”

“We’ve got this little sister.” Laurel told the White Canary, while not fully believing her own hype.

Lucas Lance was no stranger to being kidnapped or tortured in fact it happened so often he had become quite the quick thinker when it came to having to escape from his kidnappers, especially considering he knew nobody was ever going to save him.

Sure, he had his alliances with the likes of Slade Wilson, The Joker, Harley Quinn and for a brief time Bane but none would ever risk themselves to come to their rescue although a few of those alliances had kidnapped him from time to time and so he had to learn how to save himself.

Although this was the first time he had been kidnapped by a vampire the original vampire Elijah Mikaelson who was quickly proving himself far from noble as Lucas awakened to find himself tied to a chair and gagged, unable to cry his way out of the situation while Klaus Mikaelson sat next to him tied up in ropes dipped in vervain a smell and poison Lucas was unfamiliar of.

“I figured it would only be a matter of time before somebody came to seek me out.” Elijah told them both as he walked into the bar’s front door. “I had hoped this day would never come but I heard the rumors of how dependent you were on me.”

“Actually, it was more you dependent on trying to fix all of us brother now release me already so we can return to New Orleans and restore your memories.” Klaus demanded while the Red Canary remained gagged.

“I don’t want my memories or my family back I quite like my life here or at least I did until you came in and slaughtered everybody I knew living up to your reputation in the process.” Elijah replied to his younger brother before turning to look at Lucas. “Although I have no idea what the bloody hell you are, but you do smell very sweet.”

“Trust me he’s more bitter than anything else.” Klaus scoffed while turning to look at Lucas, who was far from impressed by his little dig.

“Well you’ll have to forgive me the stench of blood has got me rather hungry.” Elijah apologised to Lucas as the noble original’s face turned full vampire mode before sinking his teeth into Lucas’ neck.

The taste of Lucas’ blood tasted better than any blood Elijah Mikaelson had tasted before and as he continued to drain the Red Canary of his blood he found himself feeling like he was in an almost euphoric state before suddenly he was hit by a sharp excruciating pain within his head forcing him backwards as he screamed out loud, alarming his brother Klaus in the process.

A half drained Lucas took this opportunity to break free his leg and kick Elijah causing them both to fall backwards to the ground in opposite directions with Lucas’ wooden chair breaking as Lucas hit the ground freeing him of his ropes and giving him his chance to escape.

“What the hell are you?” Elijah asked Lucas as the two of them quickly rose to their feet.

“I’ve always preferred show to tell.” Lucas answered before releasing a loud canary cry, using his sonic scream to send Elijah flying across the bar and once again hitting the bar floor as Lucas stopped his cry and began untying Klaus with one hand while holding his bleeding neck with his other hand.

“Why are you helping me? I just killed your sister.” Klaus wondered, confused by Lucas’ help as he noticed his amnesic brother Elijah rise back to his feet.

“Oh, please Klaus, when are you going to learn you can’t beat me?” Lucas whispered into the original hybrid’s ear before pulling the vervain soaked ropes off him.

As Klaus quickly rose to his feet clearly still somewhat injured from the vervain soaked ropes his brother Elijah had time him up in, Lucas super sped out of the bar and out of sight leaving the noble original and the original hybrid alone for the first time in over half a decade.

“Niklaus,��� Elijah addressed his brother with a shocked expression on his face. “How can I suddenly remember everything?”

“Is this a trick Elijah? Because I will put a dagger in you without hesitation call me cranky, but I don’t take being held hostage by my brother very well.” Klaus asked Elijah, uncertain of whether to trust him.

“His blood,” Elijah realized as his fingers touched his lips. “It tasted unlike any other I’ve ever tasted before…I think his blood restored my memories.”

Davina Claire had been through a lot in New Orleans having being prepared as a sacrifice for her coven only to be saved by Marcel becoming his one witch army in the process before her newfound harvest power became too much for her and she gave into death for the first time.

She returned from the grave with a lot to prove after being so powerful but she quickly proved to all within New Orleans she was just as formidable taking on Klaus Mikaelson time and time again before falling for his brother Kol which is when things got really complicated for the wonder witch.

Kol Mikaelson while in the body of a witch died at the hands of his brother Finn leading to Davina going to extremes to bring him back just for the vengeful ancestors of New Orleans to weaponize Kol cursing him to kill the teen witch as she gave into death for the second time.

The Hollow did many evil acts upon her return but the one thing Inadu did right was bring Davina back and although she wanted to stay in her city she decided to leave for a while with her boyfriend Kol as they made a new life for themselves in San Francisco a life which was short lived for many reasons and within time they both returned to New Orleans just not together.

Davina was now older, wiser and more powerful than she once was taking her deaths as lessons while using her time in the ancestral plane to her advantage and although she would never be on side with her ruthless ancestors she knew it was time to become regent and take a hold of the city which is why the arrival of the canaries couldn’t have come at a better time for Davina Claire.

“So, this league of assassins sounds pretty deadly what exactly are they?” Davina asked the white canary as she, Sara and Laurel walked through the woods within the bayou of New Orleans. “Vampires? Witches? Siphoners? Travelers? Heretics?”

“They are assassins who have dedicated their entire life to the kill there is nothing more dangerous than a member of the league of assassins and no more dangerous assassin then Ra’s al Ghul.” Sara revealed to Davina and Laurel as they continued to walk through the woods. “Their no strangers to magic so I hope you’ve brought your best and even if you did, we’re unlikely to get out of this alive.”

“From what we’ve learned from you both is things work different on your Earth than it does on my Earth which has me believing so does the magic which means they won’t be ready for mine.” Davina replied to Sara, believing she had the upper hand in this situation.

“Plus, your part canary part vampire now so we’ve also got that going for us.” Laurel added as they reached a large seemingly abandoned building, knowing the league resided within the decaying building.

“That might not actually be a plus considering we have no idea what vampire blood will actually do to you.” Davina admitted to Sara. “In this world you’d become a vampire and that’s it but you’re not from this world so we will just have to monitor you over the next few days to see how it affects you.”

“That’s something you should’ve told me wonder witch.” Laurel snapped at Davina as the three women looked towards the building ready to fight.

“Let’s just get through this first!” Sara advised her sister as Davina began chanting in Croatian before Sara and Laurel began super speeding in the direction of the building, fully aware they may not win this battle.

Klaus Mikaelson depended on Elijah and Rebekah more than he would ever admit and that’s why when he disappointed with them, he tended to take it particularly badly i.e. daggering them and dumping them in coffins his excuse for Finn was simply because he was dull and nobody questioned when Kol was daggered.

Whether his siblings loved or loathed him they were always by his side and mostly under his control which was ideal for someone as controlling, manipulative and paranoid as Klaus Mikaelson but all that changed when he, Elijah, Rebekah and Kol found themselves possessed by the hollow and forced to separate for years but thanks to the arrival of the canaries Klaus was reunited with his entire family barring his eldest sibling Freya.

Klaus’ was beyond pleased to find Elijah back with him where he believed he belonged as the two sat opposite each other on the private plane which was mid-flight on its way back to New Orleans.

He couldn’t believe Lucas Lance managed to not only rid Elijah of the hollow but by the use of his own blood restored Elijah’s memories which is when his curiosity decided to take over his thirst for revenge as he began to wonder what else the canaries could do what their powers and their blood could do as he found himself excited to once again run into the Red Canary, happy to have not killed him after all.

“What I don’t understand is how these canaries can just scream the hollow right out of each of us like it was never there.” Elijah admitted, breaking his long silence since getting on the plane and adjusting to his newly returned memories. “I get this parallel universe has a different set of rules but what are their rules exactly.”

“Their pretty powerful creatures indeed but not immortal like us so let’s find out more about them before we kill them, I must admit his blood restoring your memories has definitely got my curiosity well and truly peaked.” Klaus replied to his older brother.

“You’re fond of this man, aren’t you? He reminds you of you before you found Hope.” Elijah suggested, knowing he was right. “Freya has fallen at his family’s hands and so we kill every one of them whether you are fond of the male canary or not dear brother.”

“Elijah I may be a father now but if anything, that makes me even more ruthless than before because I won’t allow any danger to harm Hope or her happiness whether this canary amuses me or not.” Klaus convinced Elijah before his phone began to ring to which he quickly answered. “This better be bloody good Kol!”

“Just once you could answer with a hello and pretend for a mere second you have some grip of becoming a gentleman Niklaus.” Kol said through the phone making Elijah smile with amusement at the sly dig being made at Klaus. “The White Canary isn’t dead she’s undead that bloody Lucas got vampire blood into his system somehow.”

“Well played Canary.” Klaus answered with a sinister smirk on his face, instantly hanging up on Kol and putting his phone back into his jacket pocket. “Maybe you will be an interesting match after all.”

“The question I am now asking is does a Canary maintain their cry after vampirism?” Elijah wondered, once again asking a question Klaus wished he asked first.

The Mikaelson siblings were now all back into the fold ready to take on the canaries together and avenge their sister Freya but as always with the original family of vampires nothing was ever going to be that simple especially with both Kol and Klaus finding themselves drawn to the Red Canary, the White Canary now being a vampire and the Black Canary forming a new friendship with Davina Claire.

Sara Lance knew the league of assassins had already killed her once but she chose to remain hopeful with the assistance of her sister Laurel and their new ally Davina knowing Ra’s al Ghul was leading this group of assassins instead it was her former lover and Ra’s al Ghul’s daughter Nyssa who just so happened to be the woman who murdered her.

Sara didn’t blame Nyssa for killing her knowing her father would have left her no choice knowing Nyssa played by the rules of the league of assassins more so than any other member but she also knew to win this fight she may have to kill Nyssa which had her wondering if she had it in her to kill a woman she once loved.

“Remind me never to piss off Davina Claire.” Laurel said to her sister after she and Sara sped into the abandoned building to find all the assassins including a kidnapped, bound and gagged Oliver Queen laid on the ground unconscious while Nyssa stood there waiting, making the Black Canary wonder. “Question is why isn’t she asleep too?”

“Magic tricks are less likely to work on the daughter of the demon.” Nyssa replied to Laurel as she began walking towards Sara and Laurel, turning her attention to the White Canary. “I thought I killed you I was just about to kill Oliver too once he told me how to get off this earth.”

“Yeah you killed me alright, but my brother decided to keep death knocking for another day.” Sara responded as she began walking towards Nyssa, leaving Laurel stood standing behind her. “We don’t have to do this you don’t have to follow your father’s rules forever.”

“You betrayed the league which means you betrayed me and therefore I’m not going anywhere until you are dead…unless of course you decide to return to us and I’ll convince my father to spare you and even Oliver after all you were his favorite recruits.” Nyssa suggested as she and Sara now stood face to face ready for battle.

“I’m not going back with you Nyssa I refuse to live that life any longer.” Sara made herself clear.

“Then you’re not going anywhere!” Nyssa stated before launching a punch in Sara’s direction, who instantly dodged the punch and kicked the demon’s daughter in the stomach before the two former lovers began a fight to the death.

Sara’s newfound vampire side had her fighting better than ever having double her previous strength in the process, that plus his vamp speed and even a trained assassin like Nyssa stood no chance as she eventually threw Nyssa to the ground leaving her opponent breathless while her sister Laurel looked on in amazement.

“I don’t want to kill the only person I’ve ever loved.” Sara shouted at Nyssa, shocking Laurel by the revelation. “But I won’t have you or your father coming between me or my family…not again.”

“You really did love me?” Nyssa asked with a soft smile appearing across her face as she slowly rose back to her feet.

“If I didn’t love you, I wouldn’t hesitate to kill you.” Sara admitted, accidentally slipping up and revealing she was still in love with the demon’s daughter.

“Well then I guess I’ve already killed you once no point killing you again.” Nyssa conceded as the former lovers shared a longing smile.

“What about Olly?” Laurel asked after super speeding over to stand next to her sister and in front of Nyssa. “I mean if it’s a case of either or then I’d obviously rather my sister but if I can get some kind of two for one deal that would be great.”

“Very well I’ll spare the Green Arrow too,” Nyssa laughed before giving Sara a warning. “You will both have to remain on this Earth, I’ll tell my father I killed you and Mr Queen on this Earth once me and my colleagues find a way back home that is.”

“When you say remain on this Earth are you saying she can’t ever return?” Laurel asked the demon’s daughter, knowing the answer while hoping for another.

“She means forever Laurel.” Sara answered her older sister. “Which means we have a family of originals to kill.”