#or somethng of the sort

[avephelis]

sosorry that my art is so inconsistent rn i think i'm in a blender AUGH UAGH RBRBBRBRAHGH AG

[randomsporefacts]

more darkspore part observations

much like the foot in the last post this is the only sense parts they didnt recolor for darkspore. so they have grox eyes here even! anyway i find what parts they left out to be really funny like those really were just too silly for this game (even though, cuirously, none of the cute c&c eyes or neo-teeny were)

ce_sense_eye_horror_01fix, still no idea what the difference is, and the center model doesnt have a fixed version

though the center model isnt even edited period

also they really just removed the pupils from most of the eye parts huh.

theres new eye glow base and detail parts that dont actually have a proper texture. theyre probably just used for an effect

has anyone like. loaded this in darkspore. did anyone ever load a normal creature editor in there is this something you can do. does this game even have editor_config~ to do that in

they actually have like every dang unused editor_rigblock~ model from the original, still in here

curiously this is in editor_rigblock~, a recolored tribal stage axe, lumped in with the normal creature editor weapon parts and also all sorts of big arm cannons and various kinds of swords and somethng that is definitely more like armor than a weapon

even star war lmao

this sword is duplicated a lot though (the 4th weapon of every set), and its colroed much more like the original spore models, so this one really makes me wonder if this one WAS reused from a cut spore model...? its also worth noting that its model is positioned vertical, unlike the other sword and axe parts whch are horizontal

like this its lying along the red axis

and yeah the FOURTH part of nearly every single darkspore weapon set is the same exact placeholder sword model. it has some morph handles, like this nudge one,

no animations and this is what the texture looks like. also they all have symmetric models

[read more divider]

other tribal stage weapons are also in here, including the shaman staff, spear, and torch

and look! ce_Weapon_Sword! which is actually capitalized the same as the tribal stage weapons, so this suggests this is ALSO from tribal stage, potentially??? but i dont seem to recall anything that points to swords being in tribal stage at any point, i know the torches originally were clubs and thats it. also this one has morph handles but the other tribal stage weapons dont

theres ce_wing parts, which is named differently from the normal base spore wing parts which are ce_details_wing

the old early creature background and actual real cell parts are in here for no reason

curoiusly all the cilia and flagella and jet and cell weapon parts appear to be used in darkspore, not even their creature counterparts but the actual cell parts

flower_bp1, the name points to creepy & cute but i dont think this actually IS in the c&c package file ..???

gamma background is just the creepy background (pretty much what it was called there too NOT gamma background) from c&c, cant say i was expecting that. theres still no floor model for whatever reason

theres still the background for viewing planets in the sporepedia but unlike some other reuesd unused models in here they DID get rid of the texture

as expected all the other grox parts are here and mega unused. honestly they had a really good opportunity to make them real parts in this game and they just didnt

the entire space outfitter background is in there they legitimately didnt prune anything from editor_rigblock besides some creature versions of cell parts

even the sea vehicle editor water plane is there though its missing a bottom texture

looking at the hashed parts now, it has this new ruler which wasnt in spore

theres also a duplicate filter mouth (the base one available on cells) but it has its normal texture from the game so theres nothing to note

[lonelypuppet404]

Yun Yun Syndrome - Homescreen

So as I was trying to sketch out some fanart of Q-tie, I found somethng!

I had seen this before...but here's a full version of the home screen of the game!! Let's analyze!

SCORE

First up we have the score tab, which I believe will function similarly to the Task Manager Tab in NSO, aka holding all your stats. We have 'DOKIDOKI' which for translations sake basically means excitement/heart pounding, its a Japaneese onomatopoeia for those who don't know. From the text on screen, we can guess that this can be added to by listening to Denpa Songs. The next stat is 'YUNYUN' which I would say is probably how obssesed with yunyun we are. 10 bucks that this gets increased by going on twitter!! Finally...'RIZZ'. THEY HAVE A FUCKING RIZZ STAT??? HELP ME. It refers to Charisma here by the way, so I'm not exactly sure what this could mean in game. Are we going to date Yunyun???? I am confused.

APPS

So we have 8 apps to the left hand side of the screen, these are from order in top left to bottom right are...Denpa Songs, Health, Socials, TODO, Dream Log, MyPicture, Room Search, Setting.

First of all, denpa songs is probably the rhythm game portion, so we can get that one out of the way. Health is more interesting...will it be various medicine to help maintain our health? I'm not sure what this could be. Socials is also obvious, this is probably similar to the socials tab in nso, and we'll probably have a list to choose from and then post or doom scroll. TODO is obviously a to-do list of some sort, but I'm not exactly sure what for??? Will we have a guide of sorts for certain endings? I'm not sure what this will be. Dream Log is probably Q-Tie's diary, similar to the logs in Nso, MyPicture is probably either a fanart or ingame picture viewer! Room Search seems the most interesting...maybe we can search our room for certain items? I'm not sure. Finally, Settings is probably just the setting menu lmao.

OTHER TABS/APPS

First we have the trash can app, which is either the leave the game button, or a button to get rid of unneccesary tabs and such, not sure. There is also an app hidden behind Q-Tie...what could it be...

We have the Camera tab for Q-Tie and we see her messy ass room too, and then we have the text bar for Q-Tie. Overall nothing noticable here. And we also see Q-Tie's background!! It's Yunyun. are you surprised. Anyways that's it wooo!!! Some exciting stuff here!

[just-call-mefr1es]

because i just finished watchitn twd (I HATE THAT SHOW SO MDUXH) heres how BAD!!! i thinks tbp characters would do in commonwealth

griffin: not even in yet and hed be SO scared at the interviews. they start asking him abt his personal habits and past with those cold glares itd be a miracle if he actually got thru those things in one piece. the reason he got in was cause he was a child and they cant not let a child into their ‘safe haven’ (keep up appearances or whatever the freak). the money would throw him off so bad he looks at the store clerks like ??? when they say the strawberries are three dollars like WHAT DO YOU MEAN. the amoint of new faces would also make him remember the fact that he doesnt know how 2 socialize with new people since throughout the apocalypse hes only had to interact with like eight people at the maximum

billy: as soon as they hit the interviews they are skeptical as FUCK. why do u need 2 know my personal info??? why did u steal the shit in my povkets??? why are you avoiding my questions??? griffin would have also noticed this, but got too stressed 2 really think about it. they woulda loved working with connie in the paper actuallu!!! uncovering secrets and propaganda? count them in ! commonwealth woulda probably reminded them of the kingdom tho,,

vance: this dumbass wouldnt even make it through the interviews he is nawt getting in.

bruce: still a strong beiliever of yumagna being an older, yurified version of brance. this bitch would excel the interviews, absolutely devour them (especially if we’re following the plotpoint of needing support for their communities, cause then bruce would be determinded as SHIT to get in if that was the case). when he finds out about the propaganda id like 2 think hed join forces with like yumiko or something (theyd be such good friends FIGHT ME) to take the miltons down. her also maybe smuggle vance in for a sweet second so they could poke fun at how they ran things in the commonwealth lmao

robin: i think hed think everything they’re doing is pointless tbh. at the interviews they didnt even start adn hes already calling their bullshit,, “so, what is-“ “THIS IS STUPID WHY ARE WE DOING THIS.” if he ever gets inside of commonwealth (finneys defo the reason he ever got in) hes probs gonna be questioning everything going on. like, everything. hed be so mad that they have 2 actually use MONEY again, hed find it all so pointless. finney takes his eyes off of him for one second and hes in a fistfight with sebastian (real me too). i also think it would be funny if he had beef with hornsby,,

finney: during the interviews itd be like that scene when they ask for their zip code and yumiko says ‘how could anyone possibly remember that?’ and then eugene starts naming the exact numbers and dates😭 hed be nervous 100% but still be stoic during the interviews, yknow, whatever u gotta do to protect ur community or whqtefer. when he gets in, hes trying to fit in with whatever society commonwealth is because thats all he remembers what to do in these sorts of situations. if hes not conforming to society hes keeping an eye on gwen and robin cause those two are causing MAYHEM. i think hed get some sort of higher rank job,, (maybes somethng abt strategizing- i hc him great at thrat) so when the rebellion rolls around, hes their inside man

gwen: kind of like robin except shes full on INSULTING EVERYONE. shed try 2 be nice at the interviews but as soon as they give her the stank eye shes coming at them like a nuclear bomb. oh? what do i do in my free time? wouldnt you like to know? why do you need to know a girls hobbies? are you trying 2 spy on me???? shed only get in cause of finney and the fact shes a child. you best believe shes gonna set fire to some assholes house on her second day there cause she forgot that this place has laws (shes so used to burning shit she forgets arson is technically illegal)

donna: shed do super well in her interviews i believe. she answers all their questions like how they want them answered, and tries to be polite (she gets a little pissed at them from time to time cuse of their weirdass quewtions but tbf who wouldnt),, overall shed be an angel for them. i feel shed be the most ok about the money thing cause she actuallu still remembers how to use that shit (you can thank her rich parents pre-apocalypse for that). shed totally get a higher ranking job alongside finney, and aince i think all the people would love her, shed get some of that gossip that would help out during the rebellion

(@straightupclownin heh..)

loren: you can best believe this kid is ruining every chance he has of getting into commonwealth based on his interviews alone. the only reason hes not sitting with vance outside the walls is cause hes a ‘kid’ and literally marie. but once he steps foot inside you know his ass is going straight to the jail for whatever he did this time💀

marie: this is the shit her fathers been training her for her whole life. they interview her, she answers all their questions flawlessly and no backtalk- shes used to this!! they let her in, talk, give her a probably governmental job (even if she didnt say/mention anything governmental) and itd be that. but!! marie was a saviour kid; so was loren. they know propaganda and lies when they see it. marie finds out about the poppy farm, she knows this place is more than they say it is. loren coild tell how fucked up the place was from the orientation video because hornsby eeminded him of their father, and since he didnt want to conform (again), he did what he dreamt 2 do in the sanctuary and like burnt a store or sowmthing idk. marie is noticing EVERY crack and secret in the commonwealth walls when she joijs the rebellion she has so much 2 offet if throws every1 off

[shroudkeeper]

There are many things I wish to share with you, and though I have no voice for it, perhaps these written words will transcribe what is etched in my heart. May it be something to bide our time, until you return from your travels.

I have never been romantic, the word itself I understood but it never held any sort of significance to me. The plays I have attended recently paint it as somethng both beautiful and fantastical. A part of me wants to experience this, and if you would allow it, with you.

Upon your return, I will propose our courtship to my father properly, though I have a feeling he would be against it, I hold on to the hope that he will understand the happiness you have gifted me.

[whentheycry-problems]

??? this is... the author? does Ryukishi07 diegetically exist in this story?

other characters who've sort of claimed authorship over this story include Takano(Tsumihoroboshi), and Akataka and Ooishi(Tatarigoroshi). But I thought this was ??? talking.

btw, not sure what to make of all these authors in light of the idea that the script was written by demons. hmm. there was definitely a mention of Takano's scrapbooks being a script for the events of last chapter. And I've sort of been kicking around the idea of Takano being a demon this whole time. There's ALL SORTS of stuff vaguely implying there's somethng weird going on with Takano.

[twopoppies]

Hello, hope u r having a nice day i wanted to know ur views on something ...please , if u r okk with it . i wanted to ask you do u belive in these rumoured twitter warning accounts like they say somethng and point out like this happened , i see many larries following it ....i am seeing one like gossey or the famous cbo are they reliable for one sec according to you. As i just wanted to know from u because i following u since 2022 and i really admire ur views and thoughts , so just asking.

Hi, darling. I don't know who gossey is, but CBO is an absolute troll. In general, I really think anyone who presents themselves as having continuous insider info is lying. These sorts of accounts throw out "warnings" that are so general that they eventually will look as if they actually know something. I don't think anyone directly connected to Harry or Louis is telling secrets to random Twitter accounts, and personally, I wouldn't waste my time following them.

[subsystems]

do you know any resources where you can talk to someone? preferably somethng that's open 24/7?

7-cups! It's a website where you can speak to volunteers about any sort of non-crisis mental health or life issue. It's open 24/7, although sometimes you have to wait a while before a volunteer gets to you (the most I've ever had to wait was like 15 minutes). I've had lots of good experiences with 7-cups! The only downsides is that there isn't a category for dissociation. So, if you need someone to talk to about dissociation or system stuff, you might have a harder time finding a knowledgeable volunteer.

If you're having a crisis, I'd recommend contacting a hotline instead.

[ampregloverblr]

WARNING: RANT AHEAD

Went to Asda todat to get a couple of pizzas as we do every other week, i order my usual as does mum and all seems good. We go through the self service checkout and mum notices there is no label on my pizza, s she says to one of the staff members and she said she will sort it by getting a new label. We get home and as mum is about to make the pizzas she calls me in to show me somethng, turns our the girl in Asda went and put my pizza back on the pizza bar with no label and brought back a plain cheese one. To say i am not pleased is a HUGE understatement.

[happynewyear-99]

hey dude. its me. the uh. the gnarpy guy. i just wanted to come over and say that i made that post when i wasnt feeling all that there and im sorry. i should have actually tried to come up with criticisms that would help instead of hurt and i need to learn how to actually critique.

after around a week of making that post i sort of saw qualities i didnt before. and the post doesnt reflect my current views as of writing this. im just a stranger on the internet that wanted to talk about somethng that pissed me off and i forgot something important about critique and that was actually making it constructive.

thank you for this man

[finitevoid]

Sorry i was watching something with my mom and i had to check if you answered my ask. On her laptop of course.

sothe is THE orphan character in canon so no parents hes also in the system. Im starting to regret working a jrpg cast into this au the nunber just keeps adding up. sothe is a bad boy who is being kept from the specific group home micaiahs in because their case managers think theyre insane together. micaiah and sothe cannot show up to each others place but thats honestly normal its not like micaiah could bring in a guy that isnt sothe anyway (1984). But Especially that boy sothe. the staff know him well

Characters with parents positivity paragraph ~ Ike and mist still have their dad (for now..). Tormod was adopted by a laguz (Ethnic). Amy was adopted by beorc and stefan was assigned her branded cultural mentor by them. everyone thinks theyre insane for doing rhat. Stefan was the most authentic branded they could pick off the streets though so amy will learn about her people inshallah (she will learn nothing besides feeling gratitude (survivors guilt) for her privilege. also bad words). Two of these characters are canonical adoptees man what rhe fruk is happening in tellius can we not have a normal nuclear american family

ranulf lives in some weird commune type thing. A lot of laguz do. He has a sort of family in that and the govt doesnt meddle in laguz business any more than they have to

Elincias parents died like last week and shes scarily well adjusted. she lives with her uncle. She aftually doesnt go to brashear she goes to a private school off in shadyside but she hangs out in the Working Class Neighborhoods of the west end and southern hilltop because shes flipping awesome? Shes gotta learn and ikes her designated hood tour guide (one of his side hustles for a switch) except ike has no idea about anything that goes on outside of his house. Greil was not letting ike wander the streets like that. Now that greil deems him ready Ike learns along the way with elincia about Pittsburgh

TORMOD ADOPTED BY LAGUZ LO L he doesnt vibe with beorc Youknow. umm thats hilarious all the orderlies think sothe and micaiahs relationship has such a rancid aura that they try to separate them but sadly as is the tradition of melodramatic teenagers that only spurs them on to spend even more time together. micaiahs like Were gonna get married someday :) and all of the adults wince

laguz have communes? Do they still have monarchism

elincia LOL. elincia's parents died and shes like oh well :(. This will make it easier to apply to colleges i suppose. she and ike are going on a journey together <3 a journey through the hood. have you noticed they know like 1 million orphans who all live in group homes presumably in The Hood and instead of asking them they just explore by themselves. urban exploring? are they breaking into abandoned buildings or are they just eating food or somethng

[goddessofroyaltyarchieve]

Okay so I REALLY like this anon,

but like Rey doesn’t even know they’re her parents yet but gets dragged back in time and meets THE Luke Skywalker and is just in awe at first. The second thing she notices after ‘this is Luke Skywalker’ is that Luke Skywalker is pregnant.

She has a moment of “wonder what happened to the child” because has Luke got them with him wherever he is hiding? Are they dead? Somethng else? (it never even crosses her mind that they might be her)

Han doesn’t trust her entirely at first (but that’s more because Luke’s pregnant and Han is in complete overprotective mode and doesn’t really trust anyone past like a small list of people than her actually being untrustworthy). Luke however can sense her potential in the Force & Rey is just so good at learning that he quickly likes her (Han comes around).

Rey is just sort of turned around because this is all in the era of Legends to her. The Empire has been basically eradicated from the galaxy. The First Order hasn’t started rising from its shadows and Luke Skywalker is just going around the galaxy trying to gather as many Force Sensitives as he can to teach (even if its just like a couple days “okay here’s the basics” type of lesson). There’s also the fact that Luke Skywalker, living legend does NOT behave like one would expect a “living legend” to act. He’s kind and compassionate, a little dorky, and totally not above sulking to get back and/or foot rubs from Han. Like he still has a serious-Jedi mode and clearly is really powerful (even while pregnant) but he’s also humble and domestic. She likes him through and likes learning from him and the two of them click really well without being able to pinpoint why.

When she comes back and finds out that hey, he’s her mom the clicking thing makes more sense.

It’s during her “101 question to ask my family when they return” that she asks about where her name came from.

Luke’s like “You know we really didn’t know what to call you but there was this girl we met and we both really liked her so we named you after her. Wonder what happened to her.”

Rey can’t help but laugh because she knows what happened to her but can’t really think of how she is going to explain it at all.

What if some how Rey ends up in the past while Luke was pregnant with her, but she doesn't realize that's /her/ in there. They become friends in the month she's there, and there's even a picture taken of her, Luke, and maybe Han. (1)

She finds out that this changed next to nothing except the reasoning for her name. “We met this sweet girl and named you after her!” (2)

Keep reading

[tennessoui]

The new chapter is amazing!!! The flashbacks are so, so cool. And baby obi-wan? 🥹 so precious!! Thank you for posting!!

i am so glad to hear you liked it! obi-wan was extra baby (literally) in tht chapter because for the next part of the chapter, he's extra bitchy:

Senator Wraeth’s eyes flash, and his hands emerge from his sleeves to curl into fists at his side. “Do not forget that Norr opened itself up—gave precious resources—for the sake of the Republic to support a war effort we never saw the benefit o—”

“The benefit of? Senator, your benefit of supporting the Republic was the fact that the Separatist bombs never landed on your doorstep. The moons of Norr were turned into shield and battlefield and until they are ready for habitation once more, it is the least your planet can do offer shelter and protection to those—”

“Making friends?” Master Skywalker asks, making himself known as he slips behind Obi-Wan. His hands settle for a moment on his bare hips, fingers slotting against the bruises there like he knows exactly where to put them and where to squeeze.

“And do you speak for the Jedi Order, Padawan Kenobi?” Wraeth sneers. “When the queen told me that they allowed a learner to lead negotiations for the Jedi, I was surprised and confused. Yet now I find myself slipping quickly toward offense.”

Master Skywalker’s fingers flex around his waist. Obi-Wan isn’t sure if he means to hold himself or Obi-Wan back from lunging at the senator.

“The Jedi allow anyone who proves themselves knowledgeable on a topic to speak on behalf of the Order,” Obi-Wan says, smiling beatifically. “It is a model of conversational participation that I find myself wishing more of the galaxy subscribed to. I can see why it would baffle you, of course.”

“Alright,” Master Skywalker decides, using his grip to physically steer Obi-Wan away from the circle of senators. “So not making friends.”

[human-monodam]

*After looking through the files one more time, he finds footage of a Future Foundation's final battle. It showed the foundation fighting against what looked like an army of bandits straight out of the middle aged. Despite this, the bandits were crushing the foundation easily, outsmarting their strategies, catching them off guard at every turn, using magic unlike anything Marco has ever seen before. In the footage, he saw a robotic mech of sorts.*

*Somethng the file itself calls an EXISAL. The mech was fighting against a man class in all black wielding a samurai sword.*

*Even from just the footage, Marco could feel a great aura from that man. He must be the leader of those bandits. And form the footage, it was clear that he was extremely powerful, able to single handed beat down the mech without too much trouble. The footage eventually cuts out when the man in black destroys the entire base. So that's what happened to the foundation.*

*Marco received a text on his phone in at 4:00 AM. It was from the hacker from several days ago. The message reads: 'Infiltrate the burnt ruins of Hope's Peak Academy, locate the ruins of the main Future Foundation, and locate any functioning computers. Download every bit of data off that computer and deliver them to these coordinates. Do not tell anyone about what you're doing or I'll leak your secrets to Morden.' A scary individual to have already obtained secrets of the Regular Army and threaten to sell them to Morden. Better to play it safe and do as he says for now.* @human-monodam

Since the days when the hacker fell silent, the Sparrowhawk Operations Base has been reconstructed with the electrical wiring and computer systems strengthened through extensive electrician work, thorough reprogramming, and stronger antivirus coding. Although the global virus issue remains a significant problem, it seems to have subsided somewhat. During the reconstruction of the destroyed Sparrowhawk Operations Base, Marco's team revealed their findings related to the fateful incident with T1M. However, Marco deliberately chose to remain quiet about being contacted by the creator of the H4CK 1MP5, fully aware that defying the hacker's wishes could jeopardise the entire Regular Army and his allies.

While the rest of his team and their accompanying scientist and peacekeeper allies is deployed to the battlefield to administer antivirus vaccines and combat the global hacking issue, Marco strangely chooses to stay behind. He somehow convinces his teammates that the Regular Army bases need him more than anyone else at that moment.

In the Joint Military Operations Headquarters, Marco is in one of the offices late at night, conducting research on H4CK 1MP5 and its creator, PH15H3R, while updating the computer systems. His phone unexpectedly buzzes, flashing briefly to indicate he has received a notification. He lets out a heavy sigh, stops typing, and picks up the cellphone, examining the message and carefully reading the text sent by the hacker. His brow furrows at the mention of Morden, but he decides to play along with what the hacker wants. He swiftly types a response:

[Got it. I'll retrieve the data and send it to the provided coordinates ASAP.]

He lets out a soft hum before gently placing his phone next to his laptop and proceeding to search for the location of Hope's Peak Academy.

[empiriical]

@collectalong / semi-plotted starter but also starter call.

"helloooooooo?" a fist pounds on the door, with no response. elmer jiggles the handle, but it remains locked. with a furrowed brow but an otherwise unfaltering smile, he jogs down the steps of the porch && paces around the house. hands on his hips, he tips his head back, squinting against the sun.

zeroing in on a window propped slightly ajar, elmer grunts as he pushes it open && hauls himself up && inside. "sorry, old man szilard," he murmurs, dusting himself off && straightening his clothes, "when you get home, we can try to talk things out, but i know for a fact that a lot of people will be happier this way. maybe i can still make you smile, too."

he walks through the house. it's clear that its inhabitant has been here recently, though the interior looks like it could be an exhibit in a museum.

"wooooow. talk about not keeping up with the times." whistling, elmer shoves his hands in his pockets. he turns on his heel, && walks to another door. peering into the darkness, it appears to lead to a cellar of sorts. "huh." the steps creak as he walks down slowly. "hmm, where's the light..." feeling against the wall for a light switch, his hand knocks... somethng, which falls to the ground && shatters. "whoopsie!"

[dreadfutures]

happy friday blue! for this week may I suggest "a ring of gold hanging from a chain of iron, untouched by weather, unmarred by time, a warning, a monument, a curse" for Ixchel?

Ixchel and Merrill found a Zelda dungeon in Serault!

or something

for @dadrunkwriting

-:-:-

The sheer cliff required all of Ixchel's concentration, which was a blessing. If she had spared a moment of thought for what she was doing, she surely would have slipped and fallen--perhaps even dying before she hit the ground. She did not like caves of any sort, and especially not mines, and especially not ones with giant statues of Mythal carved from them in monumental scale. It was a recipe for disaster, if the Exalted Council had taught her anything.

In fact, those lessons were very hard to forget, Ixchel thought.

She stood on solid ground again, with Merrill at her side. They had paused a moment to catch their breaths, and they looked up at the dim light that crowned Mythal in gold, filtered in through a distant canopy of ancient trees.

It was there, in the murk, that Ixchel realized with a pang of sadness that at some point, she had begun to view every monument of her people with mistrust. The presence of Mythal was no longer something welcome, but a warning.

She released a deep breath, then sucked in a shallow gasp of cold, ancient air. She did not speak, and neither did Merrill. Ixchel could only wonder if it was for the same reason:

Ixchel had a feeling that if she were to speak now, Mythal herself might hear.

She pressed her lips closed, and she pressed on down the dark, narrow tunnel that was their only exit.

She had expected that it would have been a tunnel of stone that met them in this quarry, but the walls that surrounded them were organic. Even as they walked along, crumbs of dirt showered down over their heads with the subtle tremors of the earth. Somethng had coaxed the roots of the Tirashan into this narrow portal, a dark and cold path to an uncertain fate.

Ixchel could not hear red lyrium here. Not for now, at least. Somehow, that unnerved her more than it put her at ease—there was no telling now what might await them.

Their path twisted and turned much like the gnarled roots around them, but eventually they were met by a subtle breeze. The scent on the air gave Ixchel brief pause—it was fresh magic, a taste in the back of her throat like air sundered by lightning. One look at Merrilln and she knew she had not been the only one to notice.

Merrill gripped her staff tightly, and Ixchel drew her sword.

The sound reached them next: a crackle and zap accompanied by the subtle song of ancient elven magic, that only elven ears could hear. It turned Ixchel's stomach, where once it had been a thrill and a comfort to hear.

She braced herself to see Flemeth herself, or perhaps the monster that Andruil had become, when they turned a corner.

But there was no one in the hall they entered.

In fact the hall was entirely bare, but for one decoration.

The ring of gold hung from a gargantuan chain. Untouched by weather, unmarred by time, missing not even one piece of its mosaic coat—it was one of the markings of Mythal, Ixchel thought. At its center, green and gold magic crackled and spun in an ominous orb, seemingly without purpose. It was up to the viewer to interpret it, in the absence of any interaction, and in Ixchel's mind it was a monument, a warning, a curse.

"It's a puzzle," Merrill said in a low voice. "Which chamber shall we try first?"

"Left," Ixchel replied grimly. "Let's go left."