#lws1 campaign

[deadlock-fractals]

My boy Hiraeth for the living world season 1 campaign @knight-of-the-thorn is running, recently hit level 80 in game so i’ll finally be able to dress him up properly. He is 1 years old.

[fractal-quadrilioquy]

So the living world season 1 dnd campaign is going well

[sylvaridreams]

I think it's time to 📌PIN a new POST

Dama, 30 -ish, he/him I've been playing GW2 off and on since mid 2014 (end of LWS1.) I came back December 2022 after finally getting a PC that could handle games again. My main blog is @damazcuz and that's where I'll follow and interact from (so if you see a tiger in your notes. Hi.)

My art tag My Ao3 My Toyhou.se link (a few filled out profiles but not many!)

If you ever happen to see me running around feel free to say hello! (NA Server, damazcuz.6892) Below is a masterlist of my 20+ characters with info on each. Some don't have pictures, I'm working on it. This post contains some SotO spoilers!

Alba Moonseeker - he/him, 13. Commander-- RETIRED. Wayfinder-- EX. At the end of SotO, Alba will be forced to step DOWN from his titles and retire to the Isle of Reflection to live safely and comfortably with people who care about him! In the meantime he bears the world's burdens. Canach and Auruim are his current life partners. #alba

Auruim - he/him, 11. A close friend of Alba's before HoT, he was lost in the Breach of Maguuma and presumed dead for years. Actually became Mordremoth's champion, and after the dragon's death, continued leading his forces against the Pact to try and reclaim the jungle. Captured by one of Taimi's krewes shortly before Icebrood Saga, he was forcibly rehabilitated and put through an agonizing reformation process. Blamed Alba for his trauma for a long time. During SotO, had his arm torn off and fell into a demon coma. He's very much like a dog that doesn't know why it bites. #auruim

Bourbon - he/him, 35. Ex-aetherblade, ex-bandit, raised by Dredge in the far shiverpeaks. Set out on a quest of revenge after digging two graves, ended up commiserating with the man who ruined his life (Alba) and joining him. During SotO, saved Auruim from the demons that ate his arm, and became imprisoned in the Tower for a year or more waiting for him to heal. Re-lost his best friend during the waiting period. #bourbon

Aeris - she/her, 13. Ex-Priory, dishonorably and involuntarily discharged. She dreamed of a crystal dragon and awoke shortly after Alba. In all the excitement, her dream was misinterpreted, and she was sent to kill Kralkatorrik. Her assumed purpose consumed her, and she was fully obsessed with Kralk, with killing him, with putting a finish to her quest -- long after Alba had finished with Zhaitan, and Mordremoth. She came to see Alba as her rival, as making her look bad. After years of funneling Priory funds into trying to kill Kralk, she joined Alba's forces at Thunderhead Keep, where they failed to end things as they'd agreed upon. She went searching for answers and finally found the true meaning of her dream: she'd been meant to be Vlast's champion, but had never arrived. Her scion had died without ever knowing a mortal's love. As she mourned, Alba killed Kralkatorrik in her stead. She has crazy bad beef with him now, but can't keep herself from tagging along after him like an unwanted shadow. #aeris windkin

(More) mordrem:

Venasis - she/her, 23. Ex-Nightmare Court. Reformed mordrem. She was a cavalier in the mordrem army. Captured alongside Auruim and Darlio, plus two others, by Taimi's krewe. Venasis has become a pacifist, believing that she'd harmed too many as a courtier, and then plenty more as a mordrem. She sees Auru and Lio as her family, and cares deeply for the bond the three of them share. After Auruim vanishes during SotO, she leaves with Aeris to go travel. #venasis

Darlionia - he/him, 18. Ex-Vigil. Reformed mordrem. He was Auruim's first organically-made friend in the Vigil, one to protect him against being ganged up on. Witnessed Auruim's fall to Mordremoth and ran into the jungle, where he was hunted down and blighted to be Auru's knight. He has no memories prior to blighting, and died briefly during the process. After the Maguuma campaign, he began hearing the voices of Mordrem legends from the Mists, which scream at him near constantly. (Diarmid, Hareth, and Adryn.) He also hears Trahearne's voice, but doesn't recognize him. Darlio is incredibly aggressive and opposed to anything changing within the mordrem "pack" that Auru lead(s) as it's all he's ever known. At his revenant legends' urging, he sabotages Auruim in his reform progress and relationships to try to maintain the status quo between them. Meisi, Rytlock, and Bourbon all eventually work on helping him deal with his Mists voices. He plays the drums thanks to Bourbon. Abandoned during SotO when Auru vanishes, he turns to painkillers to sleep the screaming away. When Venasis leaves too, he has no one to steal pills for him and has to face his spiral. #darlio

Siraz - he/him, 19. Escaped mordrem-- he left the jungle dragon's territory through sheer force of will. He's a hater. He hated being part of a hivemind, and hated Auruim more for being a moron among morons. Made a home in the Horn of Maguuma, where he chased off and maimed adventurers for years, and eventually caught Mabon fucking with his traps. The two became close, and Mabon was his only link to the outside world for ages. Mid-way through SotO, after Mabon had suddenly stopped coming to see him, Siraz travelled to the Tower to confirm that he was dead. Stayed in the tower for a while, beat the shit out of recently-out-of-coma Auruim when they crossed paths. Gave Alba some free therapy. When Alba is forced to step down as Wayfinder after SotO, Siraz will be selected to take his place. Between missions, he pays visits to Alba and Canach's home on the Isle of Reflection to give them psychoanalysis/guidance. It's his hobby. #champion siraz

Alternate Realities?(?)

Laerling - they/them, 26. Jormag's treasured apprentice and… more? Trapped Alba and Auruim in a looping fractal for an unknown amount of time to prove a point about killing their beloved elder dragon. It's a whooooooole thing. #laerling

Kiva Sunchaser - he/him, 13. Alternate-world Alba who never became the Commander. The entire timeline shifted as a result. #kiva sunchaser

Nemeos - he/him, 13. Alternate-world Alba who had a really bad time and turned evil. His version of Aurene died at a botched Dragonstorm, and by the time he faced Soo-won alone, he was so badly corrupted, he was barely recognizable. Began maiming and killing anyone who dared to speak against him. His one-time friends and lovers (those that were able) fled his reach and formed a resistance group against him, seeking to end his reign of destruction and terror. Alba is briefly flung into Nemeos' version of Tyria after SotO ends. #nemeos

Iracynth - he/him, 13. The "Commander" in a Wizard-run fractal build to determine what would happen if Alba failed to kill Zhaitan. The world became overrun with Risen, the Pact crumbled to dust, firstborn Traenard (his version of Trahearne) died sooner, and everything went to hell in general. After years of being half-recognized as "that failed Commander" who "ruined the world," Iracynth's fractal crashed into another (at the beginning of SotO) and he escaped into Tyria proper. How is he coping with knowing his life was a fabrication, that his ultimate failure was just the first of another Commander's countless victories? Yes! Currently on the run trying to keep hidden from Astral Ward and see the REAL world. #iracynth

Roseate Canaries, Nightmare Court, Whispers, Podtwins

(this whole thing…)

Lacrimosen - he/him, 28. As a dreamer, he dreamt of Eldulis, and was introduced to him as a sapling. At this point, Eldulis was a recluse, and didn't look at people at all out of fear of hurting them. They became close regardless. When Eldulis left the Grove to join the Nightmare Court, Lacrimosen took it INCREDIBLY personally. At the advice of reclusive secondborn Soundless Lychen, "why don't you fuck off and build your own house then," Lacrimosen realized that the answer was to create a place where ALL Sylvari could prosper together. It became his goal to reunite dream and nightmare, to see the value in all parts of the experience of life, and then he and Eldulis could be together and happy. But dreams are hard to achieve, and within a few years, Lala was bemoaning to Lychen that he felt stuck in his job as Laranthir's second in command of the Pale Reavers. At Lychen's snapped advice "fuck off and make your own army then," Lala realized that the answer was to steal the infantry and armory. So he did! Half the Reavers and their gear was gone by morning, and Lacrimosen found them a place to set up camp. He used his networking skills to secure a base, and soon he had a castle, a sylvari sniper army that adored him, a long-suffering best friend and lover (Lychen will deny all of this) and an end goal in sight. The Roseate Canaries will take in any Sylvari or ally. They see value in the dream and nightmare, but don't see either as a full path. A lot of Soundless gravitate towards the Canaries, largely because they're very welcome there. #lacrimosen

Lychen - he/him, 32. A Soundless secondborn. The FIRST Soundless, if we're keeping track. He doesn't care if we do. Described by critics as as "apathetic at best" and "I liked him better before he spoke to me" and "that rude little thing." All of his advice to Lacrimosen over the years has been rude remarks and sarcasm. He sticks by Lala because he does like him (he will deny this) and he believes in his vision of uniting Sylvari-kind and ending the war between the two halves of their nature. #lychen

Eldulis - he/him, 32. One of the secondborn kidnapped by Inquest, he was among a group of 20 that were tortured. Four of them came home -- himself, Canach, and two others. What Eldulis was shown in the Inquest lab (the Eternal Alchemy) allowed something to peer into him in turn, and then out through him. He was forced by this to develop a unique ability refered to as mind peeling. Upon making eye contact with another person, he forces them to relive with him their most horrifying, agonizing experience of truth-- what this means varies from person to person, obviously, but it has always been traumatic and horrible. He was unable to control it for years. Faolain invited him to the Court before she was ousted from the Grove, but it wasn't until after he had befriended Lala that Eldulis chose to take her up on it. He learned to control his mind peeling by using it within the Court, and moved up quickly. He was one of Faolain's favorites, named the Duke of Torment, and was given his own camp in the Steamspurs- Lionsbane Copse. Years after Faolain's death, and after several replacements had been appointed and disposed of, Eldulis was chosen to take Faolain's seat. He traveled back to Twilight Arbor with Inoxiam to undergo his Dark Vigil, where he was poisoned by a dissenter and nearly died. Inoxiam snuck him out of the Arbor and tried to hail for help. Audden would be the one to save Eldulis, and then waypointed both of them to Lala's castle. After a few days recovery, Eldulis chose to return to the Court, where he would be cornered to be killed again-- this time, he called for help himself, and willingly left the Court. He and Inoxiam are figuring things out right now, during SotO. Post-SotO, they might accidentally kidnap Auruim briefly. #eldulis

Inoxiam - he/him, 15. An Order of Whispers agent stationed within the Nightmare Court. He's deep undercover; even his podtwin couldn't know why he was joining the Court, and so they've cut ties as saplings. Inoxiam has torn down many Nightmare camps from within-- he changes his name and identity with each move. His name at Lionsbane Copse is Datura; prior, he's been Natila, Lausica, and countless other identities. He was tortured at Twilight Arbor upon being identified (by a lucky guess) as a Whispers plant, and then disposed of in the woods. Rescued by his Whispers Keeper, he recovered for months at the Whispers HQ before being reassigned. To avoid Eldulis' truth-seeking mind peeling ability, he allows himself to disassociate into a foggy sub-ego; he becomes Datura, believes himself a true Courtier, and knows nothing of Inoxiam. He has no idea what he might be doing during his foggy hours as Datura, as Eldulis takes more interest in him. Eldulis corners him on the way to Twilight Arbor and peels him, sees his torture at the Arbor, and backs off, believing Inoxiam to have been "mistakenly accused." As they travel together, Inoxiam's feelings for Eldulis become complex; he sees sides of the Duke that others have never borne witness to, or not in decades at least. He wants to help Eldulis leave, to survive; he's not disloyal to his mission, but he doesn't want to succeed at killing Eldulis. By SotO, he is MIA from the Order of Whispers; they do not know where he is, and he may be presumed dead at the Arbor. He and Eldulis are getting to know one another more closely and exploring their feelings. And kidnapping Auruim for a bit. #inoxiam

Tryllwenn - he/him, 15. Inoxiam's podtwin. His Wyld Hunt called on him to protect Inoxiam as his knight. But as Inoxiam turned to Nightmare, Tryll could not stand by and say nothing. He confronted Inoxiam, who confirmed his fears were true, and the two parted ways on bad terms. Tryllwenn spent over a decade putting distance between himself and his twin-- they could always "feel" one another in the world, but it was easier to ignore from far away. Travelling Elona while Inoxiam was in Twilight Arbor, Tryllwenn felt the first flutter from his twin in years-- a feeling of absolute dread, pain, and fear as Inoxiam was tortured. By the time he came to in the sands, he was certain his twin must be dead. But he'd feel something again, over a year later, when Eldulis peeled Inoxiam's mind during their travels: that same feeling, with another layer of horror. Tryllwenn realized his twin was alive and in danger, and set out to find him. He's returned to Tyria, and is playing a game of warmer/colder with Inoxiam's emotional responses, always just a few steps behind finding him. His trail goes cold at Twilight Arbor… Tryll transitioned after Inoxiam left for the court, and would not be recognizable to his twin were they to cross paths. #tryllwenn

Audden - he/him, 8. Audden awoke as a strange case. He had no dream and no bond to the Tree-- he seemed Soundless from the start, and his perplexing origins led him to be prodded and studied by sylvari for countless months. Annnoyed and othered by sylvari who wanted to understand him, he came to believe he was not sylvari at all, but some parasite, like a cuckoo egg left to be hatched and fed by another mother. The fear that the Nightmare Court had planted him as a blight made him afraid to leave the Grove himself, for fear the Court would swoop in and pick him up. But he could not stay in the city; the intense Otherness he felt was unbearable, and so eventually he slipped out the back and tried to flee into the south. Having no street smarts, he was swiftly cornered by ne'er do wells, but saved by Arbiter Lychen of the Roseate Canaries. Lychen, realizing who he was, invited him back to the castle, where he quietly convinced Lacrimosen to let Audden stay as a a Soundless, but leave him alone. Lychen believes Audden is the true, untouched and natural form of a sylvari, without centaur or human influence, and Lacrimosen thinks he is sooooooooooooooo cute! Audden spends much of his time perusing the Canaries' massive library, safely exploring the world, and training with his rifle. #audden

Dead People (who won't stay dead)

Alixandira - she/her, 38. A devotee to Balthazar, she spent a decade after her friend was kidnapped by centaurs razing a path of hell after her. She became the Hero of Shaemoor, killing and blazing a trail in her god's name, praying without a doubt that Balthazar would reward her for piety. When she finally found her friend, long dead, she found she had lost her purpose. She continued to pray to Balthazar for months, deeply depressed and confused. Why did he fail to answer her? Why had he failed to reward what she had done? She determined that the gods had left Tyria, and that no one was listening-- so when news reached Tyria that Balthazar was around, she made a beeline for Elona to confront and kill her god. He found her attempt kind of funny, if a bit disrespectful, and banished her to the Mists without delay (literally minutes before Alba would arrive to be killed in The Departing.) She spent a solid decade trapped and wandering the Mists, seeking a path back out. When she re-emerged at last, much to the confusion of the humans who had summoned her, she found that she had some portion of Balthazar's power, torn off him when she'd been thrown into the Mists. She's lying low right now, figuring out the extent of her power. #alixandira

Chesha - she/her, dead at 23. Mute, used Tyrian sign language. The Aetherblade who recruited Bourbon, they became best friends. Feelings developed. Everything was a lot of fun until she died. She's been kickin it in the Mists. Eventually she WILL make it back to Tyria and tear Bourbon a new one for palling around with the Commander WHO KILLED HER. #chesha

Glaz - he/him, dead at 41. Bourbon's bandit mentor. He took the kid in at 14, despite his reservations about taking some teenage runaway into his camp. Died in a Vigil raid on the bandit camp. Years later, when the Aetherblades were first traveling the Mists, Glaz's voice stuck out to Bourbon, and he latched onto his rifle that his protege had kept all that time. In addition to the rifle, Glaz can possess Bourbon if he wants to-- he just doesn't, he thinks it would be rude. The fact that he can is enough to get most points across. Glaz is confiscated by the Astral Ward during SotO, for containment and safekeeping. Talks to Auruim from within his coma dream. When the rifle is returned, Glaz's spirit is gone. BUT WE'LL SEE HIM AGAIN SOMEDAY! (*Glaz does not exist in-game except as a rifle skin.) #glaz

Misc (Aka oh my god there's more?)

Thiiyfadora - she/her, 27. A progeny of Inquest parents, she was rescued from her lab and brought back to Rata Sum, where she was raised by her aunt Laz. Suffering physically from her treatment as a progeny, and with several undiagnosed learning disorders, Thiiyf never joined a school of study or a krewe. It was assumed she would never amount to being much more than a NEET. She spent much of her time mapping Rata Sum's hidden passages and back cooridors. When her primary map was confiscated, she felt her life was over-- but it opened the door to the world for her. Her intensely detailed map, which uncovered passages Rata Sum authorities had otherwise been unaware of, had led to her name making it to Trahearne's ear. He invited her on the Orr mission at 15, knowing that skilled cartographers would be needed to make the assault on Zhaitan a success. They struck Zhaitan down when Thiiyfa was 16, and she stayed by Alba's side through the Maguuma mission, at one point reaching Head Cartographer of the Pact. It was after the 43-day assault against Mordremoth, in the aftermath as Alba mourned everything he had lost, that Thiiyf had to step back, step down, step away. The experiments she'd gone through as a progeny had left her with certain physical degenerations-- she had a limited amount of time left to live. Could be a year, could be ten. She could go on adventuring with Alba, who she was realizing was a self-destructive person to be around, watching him wither and wilt, or she could go home and resolve some things. Thiiyfa chose to leave during Alba's lowest moment. She currently lives in Brisban with her aunt Laz, who retired from her Krewe to act as a caretaker. Though Thiiyf no longer adventures, she continued to make maps-- for fantasy books, and occasionally she's able to travel. Recently she visited Cantha with Snargle Goldclaw for promotion of his last book, which she drew the maps for. She and Alba haven't spoken in years. #thiiyf

Tego - AKA Gunpowder Gelatine - AKA Briza Silkburner -she/her, 40's. Briza was involved in (framed for) an explosion which murdered her warband. Realizing that things were Not looking good for her, she vanished and has been running for a solid 20+ years from the horrors. Worked as an assassin for Ash Legion for some years, under the Gunpowder name, until evidence from That Day started dropping into her lap from someone who knew she was Briza. Vanished again. Before the Zhaitan assault, she trained Thiiyfa as a mesmer, but once the past started chasing her again, she had to cut and run. She's changed her hair, her scarred face, her name and identity over and over, but someone is persistently trying to pin this tragedy to her like a badge of honor that she doesn't want to wear. By LWS4, she lives in Elona, in the middle of nowhere with Tryllwenn as an occasional companion. Aeris stays with them for a while, whilst processing her grief for Vlast. Tego is not one for long-term friendships anymore, but she doesn't turn people away either. She's made peace with what happened in her past, and at this point is ready for whatever is going to be served to her as comeuppance for it. #gunpowder gelatine

Kuiltro, Dog-of-Many - he/him, 47. A dog of many names. A bandit from Bourbon's old gang. He's also well known by Krytan authorities at this point, where he's known as Mongrel or Mutt. He takes great offense to being called either by someone he doesn't like. Kuiltro left the shiverpeaks gang several years after Bourbon was ousted from it, travelled to Cantha where he was briefly possessed by an oni, tried to slip through Lion's Arch for a quick trip, and was captured by Lionsguard and handed over to Seraph. Currently, Logan holds the chain to his yoke, and is putting him to work. Kuiltro wants to tear his face off so fucking bad. He HATES Bourbon though. He sees Bourbon as a volatile mess that can't help but get people killed-- he blames Bourbon for Glaz and Hypocrite, and knows enough about Bourbon's history since the old gang to blame him for Chesha and others. Eventually I will let these two meet up and punch each other to death. #dog of many

Tzuuya and Buulma - 33 and 23, she/they and he/her. A pair of siblings. Tzuuya (older, teal braids) had to step up and raise Buulma when their parents suddenly died in an accident, which limited her own horizons. They've tried hard not to resent him for it, but the two have been known to butt heads. Buulma grew up alternating between being dragged to Tzuuya's boring lectures (yawn) and running wild and free through the Metrica swamplands, picking up frogs and murellows and probably diseases from all the muck. Tzuuya was passed up by krewe after krewe because of their responsibility to the progeny she'd felt she had to raise. They took a position at the Priory as a recruitment officer in Rata Sum, but felt unfulfilled with that, and Buulma still took their focuse off the job more often than not. On Buulma's end, he resented that Tzuuya cared more about their career than him, and sought friendship in animals rather than asura. Eventually, Taimi recruited Tzuuya onto one of her krewes, studying dragon minions, and got Buulma as a package deal. Since the two began working together as a team, their relationship has solidified and strengthened; they respect each other a lot, even if there isn't a typical familial bond between the two of them. #tzuuya #buulma

[guardian-instincts-bad]

my character for @knight-of-the-thorn's lws1 dnd campaign! her name is ukki, the bot's name is bee. alchemist by dnd class, botanist by profession, grouchy elderly hermit of an asura who, to everyone's surprise, has ended up adopting @deadlock-fractals' bizarrely adorable one year old sylvari sorcerer with a penchant for casting darkness in just, any situation, at all, even when you tell him not to

i'm the group healer, and because of the alchemy, at a certain point it just became canon that all of my ranged spells were cast via bee with a spray bottle? and that is so far from being the weirdest thing about this campaign

(we got canach to join the aetherblades. we have fucked up canon this much and we're not even done with sky pirates. i can't wait to see where this story goes next!)

[knight-of-the-thorn]

The other fun thing about this lws1 dnd campaign is that there’s the necessary inclusion of moments that don’t exist in the original text, that, with the additional context of my players having knowledge of the future, if I so choose, may cause my players to yell at me!

[commander-scaea]

I’ve decided to make a change to Valkyre and Riona. I think I prefer Valkyre being the commander and Riona as being along for the ride. In my head I have Valkyre as being more willing to compartmentalize than Riona when it comes to the heavier emotional hits, whereas Riona trends more towards committing to feeling her emotions in their entirety. Trahearne respects her ability and her worth, but the three of them agree that the weight of command would break her before long. OR, She had command during the campaign against Zhaitan and the losses there led her to relinquish it to her brother. She still maintains a role within the Pact, but during early LWS1, she is mostly traveling with proto-Dragons Watch, while Valkyre is staying and working with Trahearne and handling stuff closer to Lion’s Arch and Fort Trinity.

[axe-trio-commanders]

Saving Face

Secretly, Taimi was the true cool kid all along. The coolest of kids. Spoilers for lws2, lws1, and a violent, if non-permanent, death. Because this is how we do introductions.

      Wow, that was... anticlimactic. Zori looked down at the sylvari, dead at the bottom of the canyon- having slumped off of his little pillar when she’d shot the last arrow. She was sure he’d thought he was clever, jumping around like that, but... had Aerin... really not expected a ranger to use a ranged weapon? Though, granted, she’d... never seen a sylvari... act like that. Yes, some of them were a little off-putting, and there was the nightmare court, but he didn’t seem entirely...

“Commander? Wanna come down here and take a look?”

Zori stiffened, giving the group a nod, her voice... artificially gruff as she responded. “Right. Yes, of course.”

      ...She’d look at the body, see if it was hiding anything- llama hair, straw, that... incredibly, incredibly ominous note that she had to try very hard to fake confidence despite, her thoughts rather immediately going towards concern for Trahearne... She’d hurry back towards Prosperity before the rest, anxious to get to the bottom of this- that, and... maybe get a little alone time by herself. If she was entirely honest... joining up with the group that had killed Scarlet, by themselves- as far as she’d been told- while she was gone...? She knew they called her ‘boss’ because she was the commander, was supposed to know what she was doing, but... she saw the looks Ev was giving her. A human she’d met... relatively recently- Gixx had assigned her as Zori’s exploration partner after the defeat of Zhaitan, despite her initial protests- and... despite being a) human, b) a revenant from the mists, and c) from both several decades ago and Cantha... they’d gotten along pretty well so far. Unfortunately, this meant that Ev was very distinctly aware, unlike the rest of the group, that Zori... really didn’t live up to the reputation she’d been given- and, currently, was trying to portray to them. Confident, ready to fight entire dragons, having... any idea how to militarily strategize... a rather long shot from the ash-legion cub who happened to get involved in a revolutionary military campaign with a brilliant scholar and strategist. Neither of which were herself. She was, currently, thankful for the Ash Legion training that made her just good enough at faking confidence for the rest of the group to... seem to buy it, but... honestly, she was just grateful to Ev for going along with it for now. Maybe she’d have to attempt to make some time alone to talk to her about it. But- more importantly, Prosperity!

      The town was... small. It would probably be more homely without the vines everywhere- and, admittedly, Zori still wasn’t used to fighting the plants... but, soon enough, she’d find. Well, nothing about Aerin, but... something about Scarlet, instead. Scarlet Briar... Zori’d heard plenty about her- how she’d wreaked havoc upon the entirety of Tyria in the span of months, all while the commander was mysteriously missing. She knew Trahearne and Albas weren’t angry, at least- and Gixx knew why she’d been gone, though she suspected Ev was his response to her taking so long to get back. The rest of them, though- the rest of them knew Scarlet, connected her to Aerin before Zori’d even begun to think about it- and, with Aerin as a point of reference... she only respected them more, now. She... owed them the Commander-

“You, uh... on the trail of that other one?”

Zori blinked, turning back to the innkeeper charr. “...You’re gonna have to be more specific.”

“The other sylvari. Figured you’d be together, since she was askin’ about the same thing.” Martinus raised a paw to mark a... rather short height. “Small little thing, sorta...weirdly peppy, given the destruction. Helped clear a few of the new... ‘wildlife’, though, so I figured I may as well give her the info. Not like she could make it worse.”

Zori... paused, for a long while. So not Aerin, but... no, it wouldn’t be Scarlet, either. Scarlet was dead. Unless it was a-? No, the innkeeper wouldn’t have distinguished them otherwise... She nodded. “Right. And- where did you say the first sylvari bought property...?”

------

      “...That can’t be it.”

They stood in front of the door to Scarlet’s former room, everyone but Zori seeming to be on edge after she’d simply... opened the door. It’d been unlocked, nothing had exploded... almost like it was any other, no longer occupied room. Zori stepped aside to let Taimi into the room, protected by Scruffy, sure that she’d know better than anyone how dangerous this could be- she’d studied Scarlet, after all, right? Right- though she wouldn’t stop the rest of them from chasing her in, only following after everyone had rushed inside. Opportune time for a trap, but... still, nothing sprung.

“I... don’t understand. This stuff should’ve been stolen ages ago without a defense system, this is a goldmine,” Came Taimi’s voice- now uncorrupted by Scruffy as she sat atop the golem, looking around the room for clues.

“...I... think it’s been tampered with,” Zori began, slowly, straightening herself a bit more, abruptly, as everyone’s gazes turned to her. “According to the innkeeper, someone got here before any of us.”

“Another sylvari,” Marjory added- and Zori saw nearly everyone else in the room stiffen, knowing the inevitable connection- like Scarlet, and now...

“Like Aerin?” Rox finished the unspoken question, Zori forcing her fur to lie flat. As tempting as it was... she refused to believe this was relegated solely to sylvari. Not yet. She... couldn’t believe every one of them was capable of this.

“We can’t assume that. I saw Aerin too, but that’s still only two cases- it could still easily be coincidence. And, besides that, I doubt Taimi is the only one interested in Scarlet,” she argued, not quite managing to ease out the defensiveness in her tone, avoiding that... look Ev was giving her again. She... knew she couldn’t keep this up forever, but- not now. She turned to the door, raising a paw, noting the runes scrawled around it- eyes narrowing at a small little deformity. “And, clearly, whoever this was, they were... far more coherent than Aerin. These are explosive runes.” She’d triggered them often enough to recognize them by now- not... not that anyone but Ev had to know that. “And, without opening the door, they managed to disarm them with just a tiny scratch. Meanwhile, Aerin apparently forgot how longbows work.”

“Being smarter than Aerin doesn’t absolve them,” Marjory countered.

“Yeah, just makes ‘em more like Scarlet. Actually smart,” Taimi added, indignantly.

They... weren’t wrong, but... “Well, these runes can’t be the only thing they tampered with. We figure out what’s different, we might find out what they were looking for,” Zori concluded, the tip of her tail twitching as she watched the others discuss among themselves- Taimi quickly offering to stay behind and do the research, the rest of them discussing how safe it would be... as much as Zori admired them for taking down Scarlet, how quick they were to distrust sylvari was... worrying, as understandable as it was by now. Though... granted, whoever this was, they were acting... incredibly suspicious.

---

“Taimi! Taimi, are you alright?”

Zori followed in after Braham, noting his immediate concern for the young asura with a keen admiration- before abruptly noting the... pile of dead mordrem in the doorway that the young norn had just barreled over.

“Y- yeah! Yeah, I got into Scruffy just in time, I’m fine,” came the reply- Zori noticed a small falter in her voice, but... otherwise, she seemed to be doing... fantastic, for having, apparently, barely survived a recent mordrem attack.

“...Did you... give Scruffy some weapons while I wasn’t looking?” Came a question from Rox, having apparently just taken in the mordrem-pile.

“Well, ahah- funny story, that! Not only have I discovered far more things about Scarlet, buuuuut, I’ve also found our mystery burglar!”

“Well, I wouldn’t call it that- just visiting... ‘family’,” Chirped a voice from behind the golem, a small, perfectly pleasant sylvari face peeking out as she introduced herself.

Zori stiffened, guard down for just a moment, eyes wide in honest surprise. “Seremnis?”

------

      The ground had started trembling. Rude, quite honestly, to interrupt her in the middle of her study, but Taimi knew better than to see the tremors as anything but an imminent threat, having immediately taken the initiative to climb into Scruffy- she’s be safe there, she was sure. But... still, she watched the door to the small room in anticipation. She could hear the telltale sounds of vines bursting from outside, the... more telltale signs of various people screaming... huh. That was a new voice, wasn’t it? Er... was it? She had to strain to pick it out among everything else, but- she stiffened as something heavy hit the door, the wood already cracking in the single hit. Whatever it was must be...

      A little nose poked out of the bookshelf. A... sort of rat-like thing, but clearly not something meant to still be alive- a necromancer’s minion? Taimi watched as it made it’s way to the door, apparently ignoring the sounds on the other side entirely, climbing up the walls, right next to that little scratch before suddenly hacking up a piece of chalk- rubbing it’s little hands over it, then, in a single motion, swiping a chalky, bloody paw across the scratch, completing the rune- just in time, too, as a big, planty form bigger than any Mordrem Taimi had yet seen burst it’s way through the door- only for the entire wooden structure to, rather immediately, explode in its- and, from the looks of what remained- several other mordrem’s faces, sap splattered across the room. Well, that was... dramatic. Seemed the mouse thing exploded with them. But then who-?

      She watched as, then, from... apparently nowhere, small slashed cuts made themselves apparent on the fallen mordrem- those that were still moving slightly falling limp, small, green orbs of light rising from their fallen forms, towards another figure that soon made itself apparent as it approached the doorway. Too small to be human, certainly- and, once she was close enough and the dust settled enough, decidedly too planty, too, small spots on the mess of leaves on her head and small lines on her face glowing violet in the sandstorm-dimmed light as she put away... an axe and dagger, it looked like. And, rather abruptly, the sylvari seemed to notice Taimi, too, stiffening where she stood- on top of mordrem corpses- in the doorway, seeming to be in shock for only a moment before an apologetic smile came to her face. “...Ah. Hello, there- and sorry about the doo-hn!”

      Taimi huddled further back in Scruffy as she saw another vine burst from the ground, quickly wrapping itself around the small sylvari and constricting. No, no no! That had to be the right sylvari, she couldn’t die now! But- she couldn’t reach her weapons with the vines wrapped around her limbs, quickly reaching for the throat, as Taimi had... soon learned the vines were want to do- and though there evidently weren’t more than... maybe three mordrem left, they seemed to see the signs of a struggle, and leapt for the kill themselves, and- oh, alchemy, the sylvari almost seemed to accept it- not like there was much of a choice, with... that much sap spilling from puncture wounds, tearing wounds from the mordrem hounds... 

      And, then, there wasn’t quite a sylvari there anymore- the vine twisting up on itself, passing through the dark, smoky form that only faintly resembled something bipedal- that green light rising in streams from the mordrem around it, towards the... thing, an unearthly growl issuing from it as the green light was concentrated and shot towards the now-unsteady mordrem hounds, the vine falling to the ground, limp, in the onslaught- and when the orb hit the hounds, they found themselves rather quickly on fire, turning tail and running- only for the smoky form to send and even smokier, clawed hand after them- disappearing from the growing pile of downed mordrem to appear in front of the fleeing hounds, unleashing a final volley to finish them off- and then, slowly, deliberately, the... thing made it’s way back to the doorway, stopping there, and... then, the smoke... solidated- and, once more, before Taimi stood a sylvari- placing a hand on the doorway to steady herself, breathing hard, using her free hand to rub at her neck. “That is... never going to be pleasant...”

“What. Was. That?!” Taimi’s voice squeaked as she leaned closer to the console, studying the sylvari in front of her. So many secrets, so many questions to ask!

The sylvari looked back- relief holding her expression for a moment as she looked at the golem, then around at the... mostly unharmed room- then, a simple content, if... tired smile regained control as she straightened herself. “I believe it’s termed a ‘shade’, in most circles,” she chirped, watching the asura within the golem- a keen interest of her own hidden carefully behind friendly eyes. “But I really do think a more accurate description would be... carefully controlled, pure, life force. Necromancers tend to have a little extra, after all.”

“Alright! One question only incredibly vaguely answered. Question two- why are you here?”

The sylvari’s smile widened. “Just looking around.” She let a pause hang in the air before continuing. “I know, just as vague- but questions like these are an exchange, aren’t they? You clearly know plenty yourself, smart as you are. Does that sound fair?”

------

“You know her, commander?”

Zori looked to Taimi, immediately stiffening. This was going to be... hard to explain- just. Take a moment to calm down, compose yourself... she could do this, it’d be fine... she glanced back towards Seremnis, catching, just for a moment, a... very knowing look. She was doing this on purpose, wasn’t she. “...Sort of. She’s part of the pact, and I saw her... pretty often around Orr...? But we don’t... talk. Much.”

“I don’t think that means we can trust this,” muttered Braham.

“...But Trahearne does know her, and he trusts her,” Zori continued- catching the momentary look of surprise on Seremnis’ face. Did she... not know that...? “...And I’d trust his judgement more than anyone’s,” she concluded firmly. The rest still looked... worried, but... she hoped that if she made her decision sound final enough, it’d mean something. As off-putting as Seremnis was, Zori didn’t doubt that she’d done her best to support the pact- and, from what she’d heard from Trahearne about her wyld hunt... joining the team doing research into the new dragon made sense. She just... wasn’t sure how to tell that to the rest of them...

“Plus, she showed me the super-secret cave behind the bookshelf, with the condition that we shared info- and I convinced her to wait until the rest of you showed up to do anything.”

      Sounded more like the conditions of joining the team than anything to Zori. Terming it as an exchange... she recognized negotiation tactics when she heard them. Why couldn’t she just... ask, normally? Did she think this was some sort of exclusive... Zori remembered that knowing glance, and swallowed. She was... doing the same thing Zori was, wasn’t she? Putting on a face for the rest of the team. It... really was that simple, wasn’t it. Zori took a breath, moving forwards. “Well- I’ll... we should probably sweep through the cave first, make sure it isn’t trapped, since she’s a apparently good at disarming these things,” She decided, moving through the room towards the bookshelf- already moved aside to reveal a small, steep staircase.

“I certainly wouldn’t mind,” Seremnis chirped in agreement, stepping back to allow Zori through- the both of them heading through to the cave without much further argument, beyond an impatient Taimi telling them to hurry up and vague murmurs of further discussion quickly disappearing behind them.

      Zori let her posture relax a little as they entered the cave, letting out a breath. Flames, that was... tense.

“Sorry for the abrupt introduction, but I... figured you’d all be better off without having to worry about another Scarlet,” Seremnis apologized quietly. “You seemed like you already had a lot on your mind.”

Zori winced. “Yeah... I- I really, really should have been there to help with Scarlet, but-”

“That wasn’t something you could help.”

“Maybe, but... I need to make it up to them somehow. It was a mess. A... traumatizing mess, probably.” Zori let out a long breath. “...The sort of thing I hoped would die with Zhaitan.”

“...And if this all is any indication, Mordremoth will only be worse.”

Zori let out a snort. “No pressure, right?”

Seremnis stopped, giving the commander a small smile. “...If it makes you feel any better, I did bring snacks.”

Zori blinked, then gave her a smile back, relaxing with another long breath. “Oh, thank flames, some good news.”

[pulledrosepetals]

Lucirae during season 1?

“I shouldn’t have accepted the task.

When Aeliarth brought my letter to me, read the senders name and first two paragraphs as I was taking off my gloves. (From working on the Dragon Chaos Magic corruption purification project on risen parts. Not so glorious work but it has it’s good sides in results)

The way she sounded excited, so curious, so confused, affected me a great deal too. Even just getting a letter from The Lion’s Arch council was a big deal, but they were specifically asking for me for the job. I squinted at the name back then, Ellen Kiel. I think back then the results of the voting hadn’t reached my camp in Orr yet. But to be fair, even I liked my job, I was rather eager for a change like others. Aeli’s excited cheer made me even more sure I would take a break from my current project. It had started to look like something what would clear itself up more with time.

The fact they needed me, made the pride in me swell. Was she familiar with my work? I wasn’t sure so that evening I wrote a letter back to her. Next day evening, I was ready to leave for Lion’s Arch. To study Thaumanova Reactor’s accident in The Fractals of the Mists…

Even we succeeded at the task. All the knowledge got sucked into me. Making me ever so large curiosity for mystery grow bigger and bigger. I had heard of Scarlet Briar before. All her chaotic accidents reaching up to Orr too. Who wouldn’t have had heard of her campaign by then? But then suddenly , I was involved in the task taking her down. It felt like a big mystery, and I was in solving it. I had to know more. It was like a fun game where I felt like an investigator. Even though Marjory Delaqua was the expert of the field, even she contacted me for what I had found out. She called me a commander, pointing at my work. How could I turn down her request when we both were studying the same person?More and more I learned about the red leaf sylvari, more I felt like stuck in the void of finding out more. I couldn’t stop.

Even all the headache I got from Scarlet studying her footsteps and deep source of her own research, it was nothing next to when I found out who she used to be. I knew her. Ceara. She was also a secondborn like me. Even she was one of the few who I related to during the time I spent in Grove. She was not the same person. But I felt some weird sense of pride, and envy in me. How much she had accomplished. How brilliant she was. If there was still Ceara left in her, I would love to speak with her. What all about is in her mind? What she saw? What more she knows? I want to know too. What else she was trying to reject besides Pale Tree…? That questions my mind to the brink of madness. I feel so related to her but what is with her?

Junhart was having none of this. He got mad, really mad. I haven’t seen such look in his eyes before. After I spoke to him about how geniuses like Scarlet know so much by herself only compared to others. How brilliant she is and even a sylvari like me. She is like me. I relate to her in such odd level. I haven’t felt like part of anything in such a long time. He growled at me. Glaring at me hoping I would leave these thoughts. Like my life depended on it. He said I was losing my mind with this project and I should drop it that moment. He truly hurt me. But I was not going to sit there and let him yell at me for losing myself. This was my field of expertise and I was called for it.

I do regret it now. I said things I shouldn’t have. I haven’t seen him since. For years we have been working together. Seeing each other almost daily basis for work or just because he likes to drag me out. But now… Life feels so much emptier without him. What he said, that I need to get other friends, is.. perhaps true now. I don’t think I have any anymore.

But that aside. Tomorrow Majory Delaqua has requested to have a hologram call with me. Priory has sent the resources to her to Divitiny’s Reach. She wants to hear my word and theories, connecting the dots between all what Scarlet has been doing.I have work to do. I am going to finish this project. I cannot rest until I find out the truth. I am not sure do I call this fire in me an obsession or passion, but either way. Scarlet is going down and she is not taking her secrets with her.“

–Lucirae’s Diary, 1327 AE

Sorry this took a while! I had to look closely more into LWS1 to get some parts right since I didn’t play the game back then. Glad there is this amazing video on youtube to recap the whole lws1 story!Also thanks for @derpgarden for letting me borrow Aeli! She’s one of Lucir’s oldest and dearest friends even she’s such a mom friend to her haha

That to a side, instead of a scene I wrote a part of her diary, her battling with herself and her thoughts by herself before the worst is to come in Scarlet’s campaign. Explains more what was her role during the whole season, since she wasn’t a big of a commander back then. But slowly growing into one. I hope you all like it and sorry for the lenghty text :D I sorta get carried away when writing her diaries. They’re so much of fun!

[fractal-quadrilioquy]

It's very fun making warbands, because the sheer variation in the intrawarband dynamics that I create can range from:

Star Warband: Found Family: Strike Team edition (with bonus revolution!)

Silver Warband: Found Family: Engineer edition (with bonus alternate universe versions!)

Sky Warband: Found Family: Air Specialists edition (except everyone is desperately trying to get Rin and Tai to like each other come on guys can you not have a single conversation without sniping at each other-)

Forge Warband: Found Family: Tired Dads edition (with bonus... secret human?)

Night Warband: Most of the warband tends to group into their pairs which would be fine except there are seven of them, but they do still all care for one another, except it got worse when five years ago their legionnaire made a really bad call leading to a serious injury on the already somewhat-alone seventh member of the warband leading to her all but taking any excuse to scout and explore on her own so none of them technically had to deal with the complicated mixing pot of guilt and stress and frustration and awkwardness except each 'scouting trip' only exacerbates it until it almost feels like the only things they can agree on is the concept of keeping each other safe, except sometimes it doesn't even feel like they can agree on how to do that.

Forged Warband: Found Family: Himbo edition (with bonus traumatised commander!)

[knight-of-the-thorn]

Now to forcefully at gunpoint make Beigarth a major npc in my lws1 dnd campaign so I have an excuse to tell everyone anout my deldrimor steel headcanons