#lightlordic

[neopronouns]

lightpageic | lightknightic lightmageic | lightseeric lightsylphic | lightmaidic lightmuseic | lightlordic

lightpageic: a gender related to being a page of light

lightknightic: a gender related to being a knight of light

lightmageic: a gender related to being a mage of light

lightseeric: a gender related to being a seer of light

lightsylphic: a gender related to being a sylph of light

lightmaidic: a gender related to being a maid of light

lightmuseic: a gender related to being a muse of light

lightlordic: a gender related to being a lord of light

[pt: lightpageic: a gender related to being a page of light

lightknightic: a gender related to being a knight of light

lightmageic: a gender related to being a mage of light

lightseeric: a gender related to being a seer of light

lightsylphic: a gender related to being a sylph of light

lightmaidic: a gender related to being a maid of light

lightmuseic: a gender related to being a muse of light

lightlordic: a gender related to being a lord of light. end pt]

colors are from the light aspect and these class gender flags! all other terms of this nature are tagged 'classpectic'.

flag id: eight flags with 4 stripes. the top left flag’s stripes, in order, are very dark brown, brown, yellow, and orange. the top right flag’s stripes, in order, are dark orange, orange, yellow, and orange. the upper middle left flag’s stripes, in order, are very dark yellow, dark yellow, yellow, and orange. the upper middle right flag’s stripes, in order, are dark yellow, yellow, yellow, and orange.

the lower middle left flag’s stripes, in order, are very dark green, faded green, yellow, and orange. the lower middle right flag’s stripes, in order, are dark green, yellow-green, yellow, and orange. the bottom left flag’s stripes, in order, are very dark purple, faded dark purple, yellow, and orange. the bottom right flag’s stripes, in order, are dark purple, purple, yellow, and orange. end id.

banner id: a 1600x200 teal banner with the words ‘please read my dni before interacting. those on my / dni may still use my terms, so do not recoin them.’ in large white text in the center. the text takes up two lines, split at the slash. end id.

dni link

[pb-dot]

Introducing: The Thereafter Release Newsletter

Big news everybody! As of today, I open up for subscriptions to the Thereafter release newsletter, which is the method I have chosen to release my serial novel Thereafter. The first chapter is slated to be released on May 1st at 13:00 GMT, with subsequent chapters coming out on the 1st and 15th every month until I change the schedule or the story is done. Back-of-the-book-brief and a bit of a Q&A below the cut

The year he turned 13, Michael Sørstrand saved the world of the Molefolk from the tyranny of the Lightlord and his armies. It’s been mostly downhill for him after that. Now, 20 years later, Michael finds himself spirited away by magic yet again. The world he finds himself in is stranger and more chaotic by a long shot than the serene caves of the Molefolk. Something defying description has destroyed the world of the Molefolk and countless other magical worlds. The survivors and refugees of these innumerable worlds that have banded together in the ramshackle town of Therafter, built from what parts of their worlds they could salvage. It is here they have called upon Michael to once again take on the mantle of hero to provide hope and inspiration for the disparate masses of survivors. The good news? The wizards and warlocks in charge of Thereafter have managed to summon three other heroes through the void between worlds. The bad news? They’re all messed up in their own, unique ways, and they don’t play particularly well with others, either. Now, Michael and his fellow ex-heroes must rediscover what heroism they once had, find peace with each other and themselves, and ask what it means to be heroes in an imperfect world. They’ll have their work cut out for them. The city of Thereafter is rife with desperate crime and runaway magic, and the calamity that shattered the countless worlds is still out there, somewhere.

Q: Is there any cost associated with subscribing to the story of Thereafter?

A: Subscribing to the Thereafter story release newsletter is free and will remain free for the duration. If I get enough subscribers that staying on the buttondown free plan becomes unfeasible (100+ subscribers), I will open a patreon or similar crowdfunding page to help pay for the costs associated with the upgrade to a paid plan.

Q: Why are you sending this story out there for free?

A: At a point in my work on the first draft of His Impossible Brushstrokes I realized that I love writing too much to put writing entirely on pause while I edit Brushstrokes and The Clockwork Boy. Rather than get started on yet another manuscript to try to sell to an open-minded indie publisher, I decided to just get some of my writing out there.

Q: Why Buttondown?

A: I did some light research on the topic of newsletter services, and found Buttondown's approach to be the most promising for a small operation like mine. The first tier of paid plans is also more reasonable than what substack can offer.

Q: Does Thereafter have an age limit?

A: As I'm not a children's developmental psychologist, I feel ill-equipped to answer this question. I will however say that Thereafter is a story intended for mature audiences, both in that coarse language and references to sexual acts as well as not-insignificant descriptions of violence feature prominently, but also in that the feeling of being an adult and the often painful contrast with the potential of youth is a pivotal part of the narrative. As such, I suggest "adulthood" as the recommended reading age.

Q: Will you tag potentially upsetting material?

To the best of my ability, yes. I can't guarantee I'll catch every single one, but I will do my best, and I'll do my best to amend any glaring omissions in the archived posts.

Q: Speaking of archival, how will that work?

Buttondown archives every mail sent out, and I will post archived chapters to my Cohost under the tag Thereafter Chapters a week after they go out. This way, the Newsletter is the primary source for new chapters, while allowing for multiple ways of back reading depending on individual preferences.

Q: What's your stance on fanworks, remixes, and similar works?

Thereafter is distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial ShareAlike license, which is to say that you're free to make works based on or remixing anything in it, provided you do attribute the source, make no money off it, and make your work available under the same license. On a less legalese level, I adore fanworks, but I will personally not read fanfiction of my work as I'm worried about picking up ideas, concepts or interpretations from these subconsciously. I should also mention that I am not super strict about these things, just smack a Thereafter tag in there (and maybe @ me if you feel brave and cool) and we're gravy.

Q: How might your readers interact with you and the community?

Buttondown does not feature a comment section to the best of my knowledge, but I encourage anyone who has thoughts or something to say about the chapters to give the #Thereafter tag here or on cohost some love. If you have questions or a message for the author, contact me here on Tumblr, or on the aforementioned Cohost. I respond to tagged posts, Asks, DMs if we're moots, or you seem legit, the whole bag.

Q: Would you fight 100 duck-sized horses or 1 horse-sized duck?

Ok, this is getting silly, time to wrap it up. (The 100 duck-sized horses, easily. Horses are flesh machines made to break in stupid ways, ducks remember being dinosaurs and giving them a chance to relive the glory days seem like a massive mistake.)

[seesawsiya]

Huevember day 13:

A Rules Magister (Lightlord)!

If you are running a game of Nobilis, you are welcome to use the characters in this series in your game.

[bobertflaming]

I've been having some thoughts on level 0 Immortal powers for Glitch-like variants of CMWGE traits. More precisely, I've been thinking about Immortal, Frantic and Sickly powers, and correspondingly level 0 powers in general for corresponding attributes.

TL;DR what if generally Immortal trait level 0 power were powers of Foreshadowing?

So, like, in CMWGE Sickly and Frantic are, precisely, special actions authorizations like "encounter trouble" or "suffer corruption/trauma".

And to me thus it makes sense for level 0 powers for Frantic or Sickly attributes to dabble in that, in these kinds of effects. For level 0 powers of Sickly attribute to be powers to declare unto your character some form of trauma or corruption thematically tied to the arc; and for level 0 powers of Frantic attribute, to be powers to declare some form of trouble your character's into. Or, at least, these are good candidate for level 0 powers in tentative 0-12 power ladders.

For Wounded for instance this could be about their Blasphemy, level zero could be the power to invoke some trauma resulting from the blasphemy, and level 4, triggered by the HG, could be the blasphemy/trauma reaching a tipping point as bad as the one which leads Strategists to leave creation for instance in Wyrd’s Wailing Rites. And for the Sealed, whose experience of the world distort, it could be "(Suffer) Corruption" instead of "(Suffer) Trauma", like "I invoke this power to enforce that I suffer corruption from having warped view of the world".  Wanderer could be "I suffer corruption from the influence unto me of my shadow" ... And it'd be like possible or so for traits like Deepness and Theft to act in similar ways as well for level 0 powers.

And, to me, similarly, it makes sense for level 0 powers of Frantic arcs to be tied to characters' ability to invoke trouble unto themselves or generally defend their ability to be in trouble - and I think that the Agony rites does that very well for instance: in a sense it's a way for Strategists to say, even when in a situation where à priori their infection would not bring trouble to them, to say "no, no actually, I am in trouble even here". And Estate-driven divination and Connection have a similar feel to me, in that they are powers that invoke themselves when something the character is tied to is in trouble, they are basically incentives to get the character in trouble and prompts for ways to do it. They are ways to make it easier that ‘a threat approches’ happens narratively and thus, in spirit, make it easier to “(Be in) Trouble”. And if [Punching Out the Moon: or, the Glitch Trait “Aspect” (I)]'s inital version of level 0 power for Aspect of Level 0 Rite: “Flawed” seem not to be where the attribute will end up, it still feels indicative to me of the idea that good candidates for level 0 powers of frantic attributes are the powers to retain the ability to get in trouble, declare trouble unto yourself, or prompts or warnings that you are in trouble in some way. But Immortality ? Immortality is not the same, because it is not a "special action authorization" but rather a "Super-duper healing factor". It's, basically, Immortality, you know? However the quality of Immortality of an Angel or a Lightlord or even a True God feels, to me, more of an aspect of the splats themselves: Angels are conceptually invincible and True Gods have too many layers to kill effectively. Indicatively Strategists have somewhat a kind of immortality, but their immortal attribute, Lore, is not what grants it to them. Also, a splat with four Immortal attributes like the Angels would have little diversity in its power set if all its level 0 powers were about reducing damages done to them. This means to me there is less of a clear cut guideline to follow in regards to Immortal attribute's level 0 power candidates in general, except maybe that one would want them to not feel too Sickly or Frantic ? So i’ve, maybe not very reasonably, tried to think about what would its XP action be if Immortal was about an XP action like Sickly and Frantic, in order to have a sort of guideline for level 0 powers, although admittedly this is probably a little bit too far fetched... Sickly characters are typically unhealthy (Suffer Trauma) and deviate from the normal functionning of the world (Suffer Corruption). Frantic characters are just trying to find a place in the world. They ... they cling to their mortality despite their power. They get themselves into troubles by clinging to their mortality and by trying to fit into the world rather than be already fit or rather than impose upon the world ? So they are not at peace with the world, but not traumatize by it or estranged from it either ? And Immortal characters ... they are slow in their intrigues, their acts are not forcefull, or immediate... they are in accord with the world, in tune with it... What kind of XP-action would it look like ? Jenna noted in the Prophet write-up that “Conceptually slightly easier access to red actions will also make an NPC a little safer and more grounded in an Adventure Fantasy or Fairy Tale or on the Road of Trials; a little more insightful in an  Epic Fantasy; and unusually empathetic in a Pastoral or Gothic game. “ And I believe that this kinds of fit well with the idea of an Immortal character? Being safer, more grounded while facing trauma and adversity. Being more insightful - dare I say, more in tune with the world?- in Epic Fantasies. The ability to be more empathetic sure is all right as well. I believe access to Setting Actions could provide a similar feel but with probably less of the ‘woohoo’ expected from true Immortality (Also, ‘Foreshadowing’ feels more “slow in their actions” than ‘Discovery’). So let's say for a moment that good candidates for level 0 miracles of Immortal traits could be declarations of Foreshadowing or Sympathy. Monstrous, Holy, and Lore's level 0 abilities could be seen as kinds of Foreshadowing actions based on a Curse/Experience/Sphere. Allegorical's level 0 ability could be not so dissimilar to a kind of Foreshadowing and/or Sympathetic action based on one’s legend, one’s history. Then, to limit how much Foreshadowing powers Angels have, Adept and Gardener could have variations that’d be more on the Sympathetic Side.

[magpiejay1234]

Today's reveal is Wightsworn. Well, actually it is Wightlord, but Lightsworn's Japanese name is Raitoroodo, which we used to think was meant Lightlord, but apparently officially means Lightroad.

It's name, and design is a parody of Lightsworns, specifically Jain, and Ryko.

This is the first Legacy of Destruction reveal, so next week should be also one. We are six weeks away from release, so most of the reveals will be on Twitter.

Tomorrow will be Tournament Pack 2024 Vol.1's third batch of reprints.

[imperator-a-day]

Imperator of Puppets, Tanks and Severance

The golden future envisionned by Anatol Burinea ...

transplants brains

provide replacement body parts

is encased in glass

rely on chemical nutriments for sustenance

provide mortal with what they need to survive effortlessly

Anatol Burinea embodies the experience of being disconnected from one’s body. Like, when you are no longer feeling it, no longer in it: for instance when you can see your own body from outside while astral projecting. He is an architect that entangles with the world and make plans, plans to separate people from their bodies, keeping only their brains, which are easier to keep alive. The body, in his thesis, is a burden and prevent mankind from reaching perfection. In the future h envisions, mortal real selves would be their brains, kept in nutrient-filled tanks. They would be able to prolong their life by transfering their consciousness to newly cloned brains. Their interractions with the material world would be made through mechanical replacements bodies that they’d control at a distance, like puppets. 

[aubjornsnightmare]

Neil Halexter, Lightlord of Ash and Dread

This one’s Estates are:

Jaws

[x] hold tight on sustenance.

[x] sit at the front of the mouth.

{edit:} [x] guides flesh built around its form. 

[x] operate off a hinge.

{edit:} [x] keep teeth anchored in place.

[x] employ a large force in a small time.

Fantasy

[x] loosens the constraints of mundanity.

[x] empowers heroes and monsters.

[x] evades rational thought.

[x] embodies your hopes, dreams and rituals.

Axes

[x] shape, cut and split.

[x] strike with blunt effect.

[x] {edit:} are entrusted to those who work with wood.

[x] swing through the air.

Scales

[x] grow in repeated layers.

[x] defend against direct blows.

[x] give resemblance to reptiles and dragons.

[x] chafe against cloth and skin.

Larvae

[x] wriggle carelessly.

[x] nibble bits off of everything.

[x] precede bigger and greater forms.

[x] hide away underground.

Dread

[x] builds up in the guts.

[x] chills you to your core.

[x] grounds you with weight and indecision.

[x] leaves with a scream or a shock {edit:} revelation.

Ash

[x] purifies poorly.

[x] flees the burning flame.

[x] generates from oxidation.

[x] enriches the earth.

Coughing

[x] warns of tougher trials ahead.

[x] roughs up the throat.

[x] cleans the lungs.

[x] sends diseases flying.

[higuchimon]

[fanfic] Call the Darkness:  Chapter 4

Universe: Reversal||Series: Ere Shadows Fall Title: Call The Darkness Characters: Anisha (OC), Fallen Angel Lucifer (OC), Lightlord Angel Cherubim (OC), Snoww Magician of Dark World (OC), The Evil Spirit That Lives In The Rose (OC), Brron Mad King of Dark World||Ships: N/A Chapters: 4-??||Chapter Words: 4,542||Total Words: 18,170 Genre: Drama||Rated: PG Notes: This is my reversal world. So, Juudai carries the power of the Destructive Darkness and the world consists of humans, monsters, and spirits. Every story in the Ere Shadows Fall line takes place pre-capture of Johan and Ryou. The latest will be the very beginning of Juudai’s conquest. This particular story here won’t tell everything and will feature Ocs and world building very heavily. Don’t worry, Juudai will be along in due time. He might not be very talkative when he first shows up, though. But here begins the foundation of the Reversal World and all that will come after. Special Note: There is non-consensual touching in this chapter, as well as non-consensual kissing, and implied future non-consensual sex. Continue with caution if this bothers you. Summary: Before Haou’s ruthless conquest, before the rebellion, before such a person as Juudai even existed, there was a time of peace and plenty – and that time ended before he was born. Because he could not be born until that time ended and the balance was no more.

She looked up the moment the door opened. She’d been in here by herself since the imp showed her, only seeing someone else when she’d been brought food. No one spoke to her and she didn’t speak to them. None of them looked willing to help her either kill Lucifer or get out of there and those were the only two points that she wanted to talk to anyone about.

She’d fallen asleep – she thought it was late the night before. She wasn’t sure. This room didn’t have anything to keep time in and it didn’t have a window of any kind either. She’d sat on the bed and waited until she’d fallen asleep and awoken when the door swung open and an imp – maybe even the same one who’d shown her the room – entered with a tray of food.

But now the door opened and Lucifer himself stood there, wings spread so that he filled the entire doorway, and she flinched back from the sight. He smiled at her. It was a beautiful smile. Virtually everything about him was beautiful, of course. But she didn’t trust it, and one hand clutched against the black satin sheets, aching to be filled with the weight of a knife.

Could something like him even be killed with a knife? She didn’t know and she wasn’t going to ask him. She did so hope that she'd get the chance to find out one day.

“Hello, Anisha.”

She wanted to slash his lips for that alone. She might have to answer to it – she hadn’t forgotten her plan – but that in no way meant that she liked it. She would do what she had to do, to avenge her homeland, and to stop him from committing whatever foul acts he had in mind.

He strolled towards her, every step as smooth and graceful as flesh and feathers could make it. She shifted away, even knowing that she couldn’t really get away.

“I expect you to answer me when I greet you,” he told her, tendering a stern look towards her. “And you will address me as Lucifer-sama.”

“Never.” She spat the word out with all of her strength. “I’ll never call you that. I’ll never do anything for you. No matter what.”

He laughed. He stood very close; not quite within touch range, but enough so that her wings buzzed in fear and she thought for certain he could hear her heart clanging hard against her ribs. How could he not?

But if he did, he made no mention of it. Instead, he watched her. “I think you’re going to find yourself very much mistaken. But we can get to that later. I want information and I think you might have it. So you will give it to me.”

She blinked. That certainly hadn’t been what she thought she would hear. “Excuse me?”

“First and foremost – where would Bijou have sent her children? And who would she assign to guard them?”

That question definitely wasn’t what she’d expected to hear. She shook her head. “I don’t know. Why do you think I would know?”

“Why wouldn’t I? I know very well that Bijou’s family was connected to the Temple of Creation – and that is where I found you.” Lucifer’s eyes ran up and down her and she automatically started to pull the gown closer to her. It didn’t seem to do much to protect her from his gaze but she tried anyway. “Tell me what your duties there were.”

She worried at her lip for a moment. She’d expected to be questioned, that was for certain. Just not like this. “I took care of the records, that’s all. Nothing important. Just the ones about what the temple took in and paid out.” She hesitated for a few moments. Perhaps if he knew more, she would have a better chance of getting to kill him. “I grew up in the Temple. They found me on the doorstep when I was a baby. They named me-”

Lucifer raised one finger to halt her right then. “I don’t care what they called you. Your name is Anisha now.”

She pressed her lips together, fingers tightening more in the sheets. She wasn’t going to agree, not to his face, not like this. But she kept going. “I learned how to read and write, history and math. Everything the Temple taught. I didn’t want a husband, so I started to work for my keep when I was about fifteen.”

Lucifer nodded. “And you know nothing at all about the bloodline of Creation – or of Hope.”

She blinked a few times at that and started to shake her head. “No. The sacred bloodlines - those weren’t kept at the Temple.”

In another breath, he was so close to her that she could feel the brush of his wings against her skin. She dropped backwards, practically flat on the bed, wings crushed against the mattress, and he stared down at her, eyes glowing harsh and demanding.

‘Then where are they kept? The palace?”

She shook her head, all of her plans stuttering in the back of her head with him so close, she was unarmed, she could do nothing, and she wanted so badly to be able to fight back when she could scarcely even move in a way that would show defiance. “I don’t know. The High Priest – he knew. But he would have still been in the temple when you – when you ”

For the life of her she could not forget that moment, clinging to him out of sheer shock, hovering over the burning city, his army departing at quick time, herding captives in front of them, and then he’d hurled sphere after sphere of raw destruction to the buildings below, shaking them down into nothing but dust and memories in the span of moments. Her throat closed up and tears stung at her eyes, her wings buzzing what little they could even faster.

Her heart thudded more as he raised a hand to trail it down her cheek. His touch was far softer than she’d thought such a beast could be and she shuddered more as he smiled.

“You want to kill me so much. I can taste it on you.” He leaned closer and she jumped as his tongue traced the same path as his hand – wet and hot and terrifying. “I like that.”

“No.” She wanted him to think that she’d submitted, but she knew very well that he wasn’t a fool. He wouldn’t believe it if she suddenly turned from hatred to – whatever. And she didn’t think she could do that anyway. She had to fight what little she could, let him believe – until his pride brought his guard down.

Pride was his sin, after all, wasn’t it?

“You can’t lie to me,” Lucifer whispered, the words cast right into her ears. “You can try if it makes you feel better. But I always know.”

She parted her lips, whether to argue or to scream she wasn’t entirely certain, but never quite found at as Lucifer’s lips crushed down on hers. She froze; never before had anyone done that to her. Her mind blanked out completely, and all she could feel was the absolute humor as he kissed her.

Then he moved back and straightened up. “I’ll see you tonight,” he told her, as calm and unruffled as if he hadn’t moved a step, hadn’t done anything at all. “I do look forward to it. I hope you do as well – Anisha.”

She shook her head. Her mind hadn’t cleared all the way yet and if someone had asked if she denied the name or denied looking forward to what he hinted at, she hadn’t the faintest idea. She stared at him, rage and fear and other emotions that she didn’t know the names of coursing all through her.

Even when the door closed, the tiny little lock making certain that she’d not be able to get out of there on her own, she stared at it, blank and confused and very, very panicked.

Lucifer found himself more than satisfied with the light taste that he’d had of Anisha. The fear and hate in her flavored her lips and he thought it would make everything else that much better that night.

But now what else he’d learned occupied his thoughts. The High Priest would have known what he wanted, but the High Priest had been in the temple when he’d destroyed it. Perhaps he had been a little hasty there.

But on the whole, matters weren’t that bad. He’d inspected the other captives, and found none of them to his taste, or to his use. Desire already made some of his choices, from among the loyal soldiers and the captives. There would be others back home that he would recruit as well.

It wouldn’t take all that long to get everything sorted out and set up. He would be ready to head home within a few days and he looked forward to it. He didn’t like being away from the great Darkness for very long. It made him nervous and twitchy when he couldn’t feel that presence in the deepest part of his soul.

When he checked, turning his thoughts inward, that tiny flicker of shadows remained there, of course. Enough so that he knew the Darkness still favored him, that he could still access the necessary power. He smiled just at the thought.

It was so very good to know that he’d not been forgotten.

Her council consisted of many types of beings – some human, some spirit, some creatures of varying types that hadn’t been identified as one or the other yet. All of them addressed her politely as they entered, wondering what this surprise session was about, and she told them all that the answer would come once they were all there.

The ambassadors were also of varying types, who looked more than a little worried as they settled in. It wasn’t often that they were invited to meetings of Celestia’s council. But she wanted them to know and perhaps to find out what they knew as well. Just because she hadn’t heard from her spies didn’t mean that they hadn’t.

Her gaze drifted across to where Snoww – the ambassador from Brron’s realm – sat in icy contemplation of whatever occupied her mind. If anyone here stood a chance to know what was going on, it would be her.

“We’re all here,” her Chamberlain declared at last. “What’s this about?”

Celestia wished she’d been able to devote at least a little time to her mourning. But to her sadness, politics came first. She raised her head, and those who hadn’t yet seen her face were surprised to see even those small hints visible of her desire to scream and cry.

“As you all know, I have eyes and ears – spies – in many of our realms. This morning, one of those returned to me with the most dire of news. Thanks to her sacrifice and courage, I have learned that Queen Bijou of Norbu – my foster sister – is now dead, as are her children.” Celestia wrenched the words out of herself, her heart thudding as she spoke them. Saying them here and now made it all sound so very real and she didn’t want them to be.

Those of her council stared back at her, as shocked as she’d ever seen them. So did the vast majority of the ambassadors.

Snoww didn’t reflect a single emotion save for the tiny raising of one eyebrow. She leaned forward. “And did your spy reveal who committed this act?”

“Not in her words. But I have my own suspicions. The realm of the Fallen Angels abuts Norbu and I’m certain every one of us here is aware of Lucifer’s ambitions.” Her lips thinned. “I intend to verify the truth before I do anything. But something must be done so that he doesn’t acquire the idea that he could do this to anyone else – to any of the other realms.”

“Surely you don’t think he’d come here!” One of her councilors – one more in charge of trading foodstuffs than warfare or politics – gasped. “The distance is so fast! Surely he couldn’t!”

Celestia raised her shoulders in a quick shrug. “That I can’t say. But do recall the Fallen Angels and a good portion of their warriors are quite capable of flight. It would not be that difficult for them to mount a long-term campaign. They’d merely have to cross the ocean – and there are many uninhabited islands they could rest on to do that. Establish a stronghold near the coast and use it to launch an assault anywhere. What I know we must do is ensure that we are defended against any such attacks and ensure that we have no one within our borders who could open our gates to them.”

Soft whispers ran among the councillors and ambassadors, rumors and wild rambles and worries that Celestia knew they would need to get out of their system. The sooner they did that, the better, in her opinion. She kept the large bulk of her attention on Snoww, who spoke to none at all, but looked thoughtful at everything.

Then someone else leaned forward. “Majesty?”

This was Nasrin, known to those who dueled as The Evil Spirit That Lives In The Rose. Celestia far preferred just to call her Nasrin. It was far less of a mouthful. Nasrin tended to spend most of her time in the royal gardens, and Celestia thought often she’d make a better spy than ambassador. Her thorns were sharp and long, her skin a pale shade of green, her eyes and hair somewhat darker, her voice soft and musical.

“Yes, Ambassador?” Celestia asked, ignoring the sense of warmth that rose within her at the sound of that voice. It was said Nasrin could charm petals off of blossoms and birds from trees if she chose. Celestia would not disagree with that.

“While we cannot offer aid at the moment without permission from our respective rulers, at least not in regards to our realms, I feel we can offer certain points on a personal level.” She leaned forward; her seat was about halfway down the table, but Celestia could still feel that blazing regard on her, and it pushed the grief back a small bit. “I have kindred in Norbu – distant kindred but blood all the same. I will ask them what they can tell me about this. It’s been a long time since I contacted them regardless. I’m sure they’ll be eager for help in one fashion or another.”

Celestia tilted her head forward. “My thanks, Ambassador Nasrin,” Celestia replied, meaning every word. Her gaze flicked over the rest of those at the table, a handful of whom also offered assistance, some with aiding in gathering information, others with offering what little they’d heard before, none of which could be solid evidence of the Fallen Angels having done this.

Celestia herself had no real doubts about it. They were the closest to Norbu and they would be the ones to benefit the most from this. All that would be necessary would be a statement by Lucifer himself.

Another of the ambassadors cleared their throat. This one served the realm of the dragons, who lived in many settlements all over the world, most often in mountains, such as the ones on Norbu’s borders. Unlike most of the dragon inhabitants, this one looked more or less human, if one discounted the scales, wings, and tail. They had two legs and two arms, scarlet red eyes, and a face shaped slightly more like a traditional dragon than a human.

“Yes, Ambassador?” Celestia asked.

“Not that long ago, I heard from my kindred next to Norbu that they had not received messages from there in a fortnight. They wished to know if we’d heard anything but we had not. I fear this might tie into this dread news.”

More whispers and rumors flew around, until the dragon ambassador move forward again. “I will send this message to my leaders and learn what I may do as soon as I can. We will give you what information that we can.”

Celestia nodded at that. “I look forward to hearing what they can tell us.” Dragon magic and dragon wings would bring in information almost as fast as her own spies could when they pushed themselves. She’d already chosen her new spy and sent them off – she could only hope that they would be safe.

Most of the ambassadors agreed they would contact their rulers as soon as they could and would pass whatever information they had back to Celestia. Celestia informed them of her mourning for her foster sister at her earliest convenience.

“If I am allowed, I would like to attend with you,” Nasrin said, offering her hand. “It is not a custom that we have in my realm to mourn the passing of those we care about in that fashion.”

So Celestia had heard. But she nodded. ‘Any who wish to come are welcome. I’m certain that Bijou would appreciate it.” Bijou’s heart had been very wide and very open. She definitely would enjoy those of many realms gathering together in peace.

Snoww finally spoke again. “I would be pleased to attend. But I also must say – you all know who I serve. I will honestly tell you – if my lord Brron knew of such a strike to come, he did not speak to it of me. I can say nothing more to that. I am aware that he has contacts with the Fallen Angels and he and Lucifer have shared meals more than once. If they share anything else, I do not know.”

“No one accused you or your master of anything,” one of the other ambassadors snapped. Celestia couldn’t quite remember which ruler this one served. She’d have to refresh her memory on this a little later. But he glared at Snoww with fire-rimmed eyes and heat rolled forth from him with every word that he spoke.

Celestia raised one hand. “Please. This is a time of mourning. I have lost my foster sister and her children did not even see their first birthday. And lest we all forget – Norbu is – or was – where the Light of Creation kept its home and its bloodline. This isn’t the first time we’ve come close to losing a bloodline, but finding the new bearers could take a great deal of time. Time that we may or may not have.”

She hadn’t entirely wanted to bring that point up to them, but she’d rather they were terrified into thinking clearly than so angry to the point of striking against one another.

“Now, if anyone has any idea of where a new bloodline could dawn, let me know as soon as you can.” She hesitated, then continued. “This goes for Creation as well as Destruction. Lucifer has distant kin that were of that line and I’d rather he didn’t get the idea to bring it back.”

Brron laughed. Brron laughed very loudly and for a very great span of time. He smashed one bony fist on the arm of his throne, tilted his head back, and howled. He might well have needed to breathe, but he didn’t care and he kept on laughing until he couldn't anymore.

“Find the most expensive treasure that I don’t care to keep!” He shouted at one of his servants. “I want to send it to Lucifer. He deserves it for what he’s done!”

He threw himself back into his throne and regarded the messenger before him. It had been days since the conquest and destruction of Norbu – he wasn’t even sure of how long. Lucifer was probably back home by now, preening at his success, and likely plotting what else he could do in order to succeed.

Brron considered what his own options were. He had to stay careful over here; unlike the Fallen Angels his realm wasn’t that big and was surrounded on all sides by creatures that served one or more of the Lights. If he stepped too much out of line, he’d likely have to deal with one or all of them.

Probably Celestia. She considered herself the ‘leader’ of most of the realms here and the one time when he’d started to eye one of his smaller neighbors, she’d sent him a very strongly worded note that he should behave himself and look into the benefits of staying home.

He’d set up an entirely new set of gladiatorial combat after that, using every person that he had that came from Celestia’s realms or those of her allies. There weren’t that many of them but enough to work his aggression through.

He wanted to do it again now. He wasn’t sure if he had enough but he had other methods to get what he wanted. He had a standing agreement with every ruler – even Celestia – that those criminals they didn’t want to execute themselves could be sent to him for gladiatorial combat. One of them had achieved the position of his Champion some time ago.

Perhaps he’d have a new one. But he would also be very willing to request a new warrior from Lucifer and use whoever that was to kill the current Champion. He always politely made certain that whatever location the fatalities came from were delivered the body and a detailed description of how they lost their lives.

“We are going to have a celebration!” Brron finally declared, raising his head to stare at all of those who stood before him. “For the realm of Norbu, once ruled by Queen Bijou of the Creation’s Light, is no more! Our allies across the ocean, led by Fallen Angel Lucifer, have destroyed it. Those who survived are taken captive.”

He liked hearing the whispered words of fear and shock race through the gathering before him. The ambassador from Celestia turned away, fists clenched together, and Brron would have wagered quite a lot that she wept when she could not be seen. He would make certain that they were invited to the new tournament and that they watched every moment of it. Perhaps they would send word to Celestia that Brron could be every bit as deadly in his entertainments as in his desires to make war.

“How can you celebrate the loss of an entire bloodline?” The Ambassador asked. She turned back, her eyes shining with tears unshed. “The destruction of a realm and a woman who did no harm to you?”

Brron smiled. He knew exactly what his smile looked like to anyone else and he wasn’t at all surprised to see the Ambassador’s lips twitch in disgust at him. “Because my ally has achieved a great victory and I only wish that I’d been able to stand by his side when he did it.”

She shook her head and stalked away, forcing her way through the surrounding warriors, sorcerers, and ambassadors as she did. Brron waved to them to let her go. She would be returned when he chose to let her.

But he wasn’t just going to sit there. The messenger had already left but Brron had other ways to do what he wanted to. He dismissed his court with a quick wave of one hand and hurried on to his personal chamber. There, he settled into his most comfortable chair, and pulled out a sphere of black crystal. He lit two candles and set the sphere between them, watching as the light played over the darkness.

“Lucifer! Get yourself here! I won’t wait all night!” He’d never bothered to work out if there was a time difference between his realm and Lucifer’s. When he called he expected Lucifer to answer, and vice versa.

Yet it was still another ten minutes before the image of the greatest of the Fallen Angels reflected in the sphere. He raised one eyebrow towards Brron.

“And what has you so excited tonight?” A sudden quirk of Lucifer’s full lips. “Did you perhaps receive good news?”

“That I did and it’s news you sent! Congratulations on taking over Norbu – or is it getting a new name?”

“You’re going to have to ask Desire about that. I gave him the pace to take care of.” Lucifer lounged backwards. Brron couldn’t see where he was, but he presumed it was in his personal quarters. “But I think I should ask you this – do you know of where they keep the bloodline records for Creation?”

Brron blinked. “No. I’d never even known they kept something like that.” He leaned forward. “What about Destruction? Do they have that, too?”

“Quite likely. Though-” Lucifer considered for a few seconds, then shook his head, a haunting smile playing over his lips. “Though I doubt they would keep the records fro Destruction where anyone could find them. They did, after all, go to such trouble to exterminate the line.”

That got a snort from Brron. “They didn’t succeed, though. Did they?” It wasn’t really that much of a question. It wasn’t widely known, but he knew that Lucifer had ancestry going back to the royal family of Kuragari, where the line of Destruction once reigned supreme. Perhaps it wasn’t strong enough in his veins to allow him to host the full power of Destruction but it was still enough for Brron.

“That they didn’t. Now, tell me. I know you. What do you have in mind for a celebration? I might find the time to attend briefly.”

“Really?” Brron loved that thought the moment that he heard it. “I am definitely celebrating. A tournament and if you can send someone who would be strong enough to defeat my current Champion, I look forward to seeing them.” A very amused laugh dropped from his green-tinged teeth. “And if you can attend, I’ll make sure that we have the best of feasts ready for you.”

“And I’ll see to it that I bring some of the wine of Kuragari,” Lucifer agreed. “I might even have another set of good news when I arrive. I can’t say for certain but if I do, you’ll be one of the first to know.”

Oh, that definitely thrilled Brron. “Will it be news I can tell to everyone or private?” He wasn’t certain which of those he wanted more. News that he could spread would be fascinating but secrets were intriguing.

But Lucifer chuckled and once more shook his head. “I’ll let you know when the time comes. When will your celebration begin and how long will it last?”

“In three days,” Brron decided. He would have to let his servants know; the time would serve to get whoever Lucifer sent there and for the finest of foods to be prepared. “And I think I Can stretch it out to a week.”

“Then I’ll come on the very last night. I’ll send one of my favored warriors to you tomorrow. I have a sorcerer who can send them via teleportation.” Lucifer nodded towards him, this time in farewell, and Brron barely had time to acknowledge that before the image faded, and he was left with rising anticipation.

To Be Continued

Notes: Can you tell what I’m leading up to with Lucifer and Anisha? If you haven’t, don’t worry. This only really occurred to me as I got started on this.

[ygo-colors]

Lightlord Archer Felis/Felis, Lightsworn Archer

[transgenderization]

i have a really fun hearthstone deck right now where i spam low cost reborn minions to complete ‘making mummies’ rly quickly and then overpower the enemy by duplicating legendaries its fun

[hazard-15]

Some art I did.

Hope you like.

[pb-dot]

Let's meet the Therafter Cast: Michael

Today, I would like to introduce you to the main/POV character of the first bit of the Thereafter series. Michael Sørstrand is a stocky man in his early thirties, light brown hair and blue eyes. He walks with a slight limp on his right foot, but otherwise has the profile and build of someone who works out with some regularity. Before he got spirited away to Thereafter, he worked as a night watchman in a museum.

When he was in his preteen years, Michael was incredibly afraid of the dark until he was whisked away to the magical lands of Caveworld. Caveworld was an entirely subterrean world populated by molefolk, anthromorphic moles living in large burrow communes. The molefolk lived in constant fear of the Lightlord, a tyrannical despot on the surface of Caveworld. The Lightlord's armies would raid the caves, spreading unnaturally bright light with their glowing armor as they snatched molefolk away to work in the lightlord's mines, slaving away to bring the lumen crystals that the Lightlord used to forge his armor.

While much of Michael's stay in caveworld came down to being afraid of the dark, he did eventually get used to it, and in an extension of the lesson that there was nothing inherently scary about the dark, he taught the molefolk that there was nothing inherently scary about the light. Granted, down here light usually meant a Lightlord raid which was ground for concern. After a molefolk girl that Michael had grown close to was nabbed by the Lightlord, he rallies the molefolk to try to get her back, to get all of their lost friends back. The Lightlord has terrorized them because they have never rose up against him, have never shown what the molefolk burrows can do if they act together.

Upon storming the mines and driving away the forces of the lightlord, Michael discovers that some prisoners are held in the palace of Lux Aeterna, the everlasting light. Emboldened by their victory, the molefolk decides to march upon Lux Aeterna, and Michael volunteers to be part of the vanguard, to sneak into the heavily fortified palace and disable the powerful light magic that makes the place all but impenetrable to the light-sensitive molefolk. Michael doesn't like to talk about what happend during his incursion into Lux Aeterna, other than that a close call with a Luminous One, the Lightlord's elite guard, left him with a severe wound to the knee.

The Lightlord got toppled and banished "from all lands with good diggable soil" by the restored Burrow Undercouncil. Suri-Ti, Michael's molekin friend, has been rescued and gave Michael his first kiss. Michael's knee has been healed by the most skilled healer in the Undercouncil, and he was no longer afraid of the dark. Still, returning to the mundane world seemed scary to Michael. What if he wasn't as good in the mundane world as he had been in caveworld, what if this had all been a fluke? Sur-Ti assured Michael that in her small, semiblind eyes, he'd always be spectacular.

Once back in the world, fate spent the next couple of years in proving Michael's every fear right, and he generally experienced falling down the tree of life and hitting just about every branch he could find. Not only did a life that could be anywhere close to spectacular fail to materialize, as the years after the magical adventure dragged on, Michael found the wound in his knee being somewhat less cured than he had assumed. After dropping out of college with one and a half functioning knees, Michael found himself taking more and more night shift jobs, which eventually led him to the museum job he had at the start of Thereafter.

Michael is kind of meant to be the everyman of the ensemble, being somewhat less quirky than his heroic colleagues. His motivation for staying on team Neverafter is a deep desire to be a hero and have a purpose again, and besides, it's not like he has a lot of good things waiting for him in the "real world."

[bobertflaming]

Thinking about Light Magisters in Nobilis as “visionaries of a utopic future where humankind never dies” and how you can come up with lightlords ideas based on this. Like ... you can have simple “Humankind reaches immortality through cybernetic enhancements” or “Humankind reaches immortality through wuxia martial arts mastery” but you can also have things like.. “Immortalitly through cyclical medieval stasis” : each time humankind reaches a technology level where it could destroy itself, the Lightlord forces a return to a middle-age like technology level, an utopic ‘Camelot’ if you will, and the cycle continues. “Immortality through arts” : no more ‘human being’ strictly speaking but rather they have been immortalized through fiction, paintings, etc ... ala people ‘saved’ in this two-parter in DW about the empty library. “Immortality through diplomacy with the world” ala Balder. A lightlord whose project consists in having every particular domain of Earth swear not to put an end to humankind, or, even, to be nice to humankind in general, leading to a sort of harmonious golden age.

[magpiejay1234]

Assuming Age of Overlord is the ARC-V set, this means a couple of things.

**This means we are largely going to the same route as Series 11, but 5D’s and DM switched around. So it should be 5D’s->ARC-V->GX->ZEXAL/DM->DM/ZEXAL->VRAINS.

***If it is GX instead, and we get ARC-V for April 2024, then it should be like, 5D’s->GX->DM->ARC-V->ZEXAL->VRAINS, OR 5D’s->GX->VRAINS->ARC-V->ZEXAL

**Going with the previous Lotte post, I’m guessing the cover card will be a combination of Raging Dragon with Rebellion Dragon, or some sort of a new retrain of Rebellion Dragon with one of its attack names.

**Phantom Rage had a 5D’s rep, and Dimension Force had a ZEXAL rep. I’m guessing this one will also have a 5D’s rep, possibly one of the remaining Dark Signers again (Bommer, Demack, Rutger, Rex), because of 5D’s anniversary.

**Going with the Mythological Age reference, this set might have some Spirit support. The last OCG banlist made Yata-Garasu Unlimited, so this would be a good excuse.

**Other possible support going by the name would be Lightsworns (Jp. name: Lightlord), and PSY-Frames (PSY-Frame Overload).

[ygoreviews]

Curious, the Lightsworn Dominion ———————————————— 3 monsters with the same Attribute but different Types If this face-up card is destroyed by battle, or leaves the field because of an opponent's card effect while its owner controls it: You can target 1 card in your GY; add it to your hand. You can only use each of the following effects of "Curious, the Lightsworn Dominion" once per turn. ● If this card is Link Summoned: You can send 1 card from your Deck to the GY. ● If a card(s) is sent from your Deck to the GY by an effect: Send the top 3 cards of your Deck to the GY. ———————————————— Can Be Found In: Extreme Force (EXFO-EN091)

Lightsworn has remained quite prevalent since their debut many years ago. This is because their demerit involving the constant milling of our Deck becomes extremely benefitial, as by fueling the Graveyard with cards we obtain a variety of resources without waiting to be drawn. From the own Lightsworn cards to other themes we can mix together, is a highly powerful archetype with a variety of approaches and constant additions to their gamestyle very few Decks can replicate that easily.

"Curious, the Lightsworn Dominion" is the obligatory Link inclusion that many archetypes are obtaining in recent years, not only assisting in their Extra Deck summons but also providing further assistance to its archetype and others. If "Curious" is taken down in battle or by an opponent's effect, in return will let us recover any card from our Graveyard back to our hand. But "Curious" became more known for its two following effects, capable to work with each other and its archetype's strategy. Once "Curious" is Link Summoned we can send any card from inside our Deck to the Graveyard, allowing us to mill a specific card for any purposes needed at the moment. Its third effect activates when one or more cards are sent from the Deck to the Graveyard, in which "Curious" will make a milling effect of its own by sending other three cards from the top of the Deck. Obviously all the abilities of "Curious" greatly benefits Lightsworns as fuels the Graveyard and potentially recovers valuable cards, but with a restricted yet simple summon requeriment is able to support other mechanics outside its own theme.

The Link Summon of "Curious" might not be suitable for every Deck with or without Lightsworns, but obtaining monsters sharing the same Attribute yet different Types is not a difficult task whatsoever. Lightsworns themselves have a diverse typing among its members, and with the summoning effects from monsters like "Lumina, Lightsworn Summoner" and "Wulf, Lightsworn Beast" it won't take that long to achieve the arrival of "Curious". This is further assured with other LINK monsters we can work arround their milling mechanics, as monsters like "Fairy Tail - Snow" and "Performage Trick Clown" will revive themselves by their respective conditions. Despite being a LIGHT Deck the archetype is often mixed along DARK monsters that will provide further options to summon "Curious", ranging from the Twilightsworn monsters and their banishing abilities to off-theme cards like "Plaguespreader Zombie" and "Predaplant Ophrys Scorpio". And in some other cases they will work with EARTH monsters as well, from "Grinder Golem" generating tokens, "Brilliant Fusion" bringing out a Fusion Monster,  or "Giant Rex" summoning itself once banished. Overall, while "Curious" has a restricted Link Summon there are plenty of methods to assure its arrival even if we mix Attributes together.

Lightsworns mostly rely on their Graveyard as either wait for their End Phase milling effects or try to force them in the middle of the turn, and "Curious" being the latter becomes of great value to quickly dump key cards with. Right from its Link Summon "Curious" will let us dispose of any card we like in our Deck, overall assuring we prepare best card and/or effects for any situation. This same ability will trigger the other milling effect of "Curious" further fueling our Graveyard with cards to work with. If not activated by its own effect, most Lightsworn cards as well other options like "Card Trooper" and "Mathematician" will do so as they also increase the card pool in our Graveyard. From previously mentioned monsters like "Fairy Tail - Snow" and "Wulf, Lightsworn Beast", to preparing the summon of lead monsters like "Judgment Dragon" or "Black Luster Soldier - Envoy of the Beginning", overall "Curious" becomes yet another method for the archetype to prepare their best outcomes as soon as possible. But the support role of "Curious" doesn't end there, as in case the opponent makes it leave the field by any field (Including returning to the Extra Deck by a bouncing effect) we can retreive any valuable card we might prefer to have at hand for the situation.

Lightsworns are one of the few Decks that will prefer to run sixty cards instead of the minimum number, as effects like "Curious, the Lightsworn Dominion" won't take long to provide us a massive Graveyard to work with. It didn't take long for Lightsworns to become one of the best strategies involving the Graveyard, and with the addition of "Curious" not only provides Link support for our Extra Deck, but also more effects to add in a gamestyle that already didn't take long to run out of cards in the Main Deck. If anything Lightsworn Decks are quite greedy and will try to aim to mixed mechanics to work with, therefore although able to easily summon "Curious" it might not be a priority over other Extra Deck options. But although mostly reduced to yet another milling effect to gain momentum, "Curious" is a valuable monster for not only Lightsworns but any other Deck that relies on Graveyard interactions.

Personal Rating: A

+ If destroyed in battle or leaves the field due an opponent's effect will let us recover a card from our Graveyard + When Link Summoned we can send any card from the Deck to the Graveyard + If cards are milled by an effect will send three other cards in return + Both milling effects work with each other + Great support for its summon and to work along with

- Due its supporting role and summon conditions other Extra Deck options might be prioritized