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Aeyis



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Fri Jul 20, 2018 2:03 pm
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PrincessInk says...



Ellen Smith: The Town


Ellen hovered beside Georgios as he knelt before Sora, who was slumped against a tree, his clothes soaked through. The fire demon sent puffs of heat into his hair, top, skirt. The air around Sora began to mist with steam, and Sora's shivering relaxed into a sprawl.

Sora sighed, stretched his arms and legs. “Now that's better. Thanks a million, Georgios.”

He was still a bit shaky from his fall through the ice so Ellen found some herbs in her satchel that she somehow knew would work strength into the drinker's limbs. She sprinkled a few in an empty flask and tipped in some water from her supply. Then Georgios heated the water again and handed it to Sora, who sipped and pulled a face at his flask.

“What is that?”

“Honey helps,” said Ellen, finding confidence in her Fay voice. “But we don't have any, so you'll just have to drink it all up like the warrior you are. At least, they taste less weird than the protein shakes my dad sometimes drank, back at Earth. The ones with pureed tofu and kale.”

She remembered those summer days when she and her dad would wake up early for a morning jog. Afterwards, he would mix up a protein shake out of the cookbook Shakes Your Body Wants. Even though she disliked them, she'd always drink a little, to accompany her dad. She remembered the laughs they'd shared as they slouched on the living room sofa with their shakes. It made the chasm separating her from home widen and the reality of the situation sink in, and she looked away.

“Do you think we can go home soon?” said Georgios. “It's fun and all to have this adventure in our own world, but home is home.”

Sora drained the flask before handing it back to Ellen. “Home is home because you don't fall into a lake there. I'm no genius, but I know that what we're 'bout to face from now on is gonna make us want to run home. Huh. I don't think I'd ever see my games the same way again.”

“Or books.” She looked up to meet Sora's eyes, but his gaze flicked up to the sky. “They're wonderful, but imagine what happens if you get sucked into them somehow.”

Georgios's magic and Fay's herbs worked effectively to restore Sora's strength, and in a few minutes they decided to depart. Amy, Andrew, and Matt heaved the bundle of thief and vines onto their shoulders while the others flanked them.

Traveling was an excruciatingly slow business. Those not carrying the thief had to find the easiest routes for Amy, Andrew, and Matt. Sometimes the thief wriggled and coated the vines with ice to try to harden and snap them, so they would have to stop and contain him again.

From far away, Ellen glimpsed trails of smoke rising into the chilly, wintry air, and as they neared the town, the gray, brown, and red roofs of houses and stores. The trees around them, originally thick and tangled like the inside of a bush, thinned out around them and grew more tidy, pleasant, tamed.

At noon, they picnicked under a clump of trees.

By the time the river swerved to the right, they reached a cobbled road. Snow blanketed most of it, but in some places stones jutted out and weeds unfurled spindly leaves. Ellen walked lightly and avoided the sharp rocks with ease.

The cottages at the outskirts of town were at first sparse, separated by a hundred paces of empty ground, but soon they grew closer and closer, eventually till their sides nearly touched. Far ahead, Ellen saw a cloud of smoke spewing out of the forge, and heard clatters and bangs from the tavern down the road.

They were supposed to meet the shopkeeper in the town square. Ellen squinted at the sky. The sun was low in the horizon, and the sky was a lake of pink and pale gold.

“Well,” said Andrew, glancing at the tavern as they ambled past. “I think we deserve a solid meal and rest.”

That moment, the door to the tavern burst open, and a stool flew out of it, smashing into Ellen. The wind knocked out of her, she stumbled back and slammed against Andrew. He fell against the thief, knocking him to the ground. Amy and Matt tumbled down and caused several others to fall.

“We have to leave now,” Arthur said urgently, as several drunken men staggered out. From this distance, Ellen could already smell liquor on their breaths. That moment, she wished Fay did not have a heightened sense of smell. She scrambled up and pressed her arm against her aching middle.

Amy darted toward the entrance of the tavern and peered in, then hurried back. Her expression was so grim it looked a little frightening. “One of the tavern helpers is trapped!”

One of the drunks lurched toward the stool, snatched it up, and held it high above his head like a proud flag bearer. He cocked his arm as if about to throw the stool, but the next moment, Amy yanked it back by the legs. He whirled around, face purpling, and tried to snatch it from her, but he was no match. Amy easily jabbed the stool at his chest, and he tumbled to the ground.

“There's no point, Amy!” Neil called out. “They're drunk!”

Jin pulled out his gayageum. “Let's just distract them enough to stop them from fighting. They should tire out soon enough.”

His fingers plucked at the strings, and gold ribbons of magic streamed out toward the men, striking them in the chests. They lost balance and crumpled.

A crash echoed in the tavern, along with the sound of clinking glass.

“It's a bit early to have a bar fight,” Matt muttered, as more men—and several orcs—emerged.

Vines erupted from the ground, tripping a few of them. Arthur turned to Ellen, who stood a little ways from the fight, a hesitant hand on her bow. “Don't bother. We just need to make sure we can get the person out safely.”

Nora and Matt cautiously entered the tavern and returned a few minutes with the person trapped inside. He was a boy of barely thirteen years, probably working in the tavern for the first time, and Ellen couldn't blame him for looking terrified. She would have been too. She felt a surge of sympathy for him.

“Where's his master?” she asked Nora.

Nora sighed. “He was knocked out, but he's fine now. Groggy. Probably as a result of one of the stools flying around. The boy ought to go home.”

Ellen tilted her face up to look him in the eye. “Are you all right? You should go home.” She gave him a little push. “Come on, go to your ma and pa.”

The boy did not move, so Matt said, “The boss told you to go home, so you should obey him. He won't dismiss you if you leave now.”

Ellen gave him another push between his shoulder blades, and finally he took off and disappeared into the shadows. She waved good-bye to him, hoping to ease a little of his shock.

Around her, the fight had ended. Most of the drunks lay sprawled on the ground, and the few that were still standing were shuffling toward home. Jin was packing his gayageum back. He smiled a tired smile at Ellen as everyone assembled into formation around the thief and continued their slow procession to the town square, where the shopkeeper might be standing and waiting.

~v~


They laid the thief before the shopkeeper. But she did not look at the thief. Her eyes fell on the eight arrayed behind Arthur, and her jaw dropped in shock. “You,” she said.

“We happen to be old friends,” Amy explained. “Now, take a look at that thief. It is your thief, right?”

The shopkeeper prodded the cocoon of vines with her foot, but her eyes were still on the group. “Thank you. Thank you so much.”

“You're welcome,” said Arthur. “I think he has some loot hidden in his pockets.”

Ellen bent over and lifted one of the vines cocooning the thief. She reached in and felt the dark, coarse fabric of his tunic, but also a very slight lump. Coins. She dug deeper and pulled out a slim gold coin. “Yours?”

“Yes, yes.” But the shopkeeper did not take it. "Where's your leader? That priest named K?"

Jin stiffened. “He's—gone and we don't know where he is.”

“That's odd.”

Very odd.” Ellen wondered how Keith was faring. Was he trapped in Aeyis too? Or was he still on Earth, puzzling about what had happened to his fellow Rpers?

Finally the shopkeeper accepted the coin, and they set to shaking all of the stolen coins out of the thief's clothes--even hair and boots--while he glared at them balefully.

“Well, this has been one eventful day.” The shopkeeper dropped several more coins into her pockets. “A mercenary and I bargain, somehow your leader vanishes.” She stood up. “Thank you, all. I think I have all my coin back now. The village constables can handle him now.” She paused. “And. I hope you find your leader soon. That priest.”

~v~


They decided to book a room in the inn because the darkness made returning to the forest to camp out of the option. Nobody felt like eating in the tavern, so they hurried through, trying to ignore the shards of glass and wood still littering the ground. The room buzzed with chatter as they set up their bedrolls.

“Tomorrow,” Neil said, bobbing up and down like a firefly, “I think we ought to return to the forest for some practice spars.”

Arthur nodded. “You'll have to get used to your new bodies, you know.”

Ellen stretched out on her bedroll and thought of the arrow she had not shot yet, of the sensory magic she had not explored completely yet, and some place deep down inside of her tingled with eagerness to discover just how powerful she—and the others—were.
always daydreaming, always clumsy





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TinkerTwaggy says...



Andetto – Anything goes


In the darkness of the inn, where they had all been sleeping, Andetto opened an eye, feeling the scene to be rather… familiar. Then, he looked down and smirked, remembering with childish satisfaction that the few members of his kind could, like bats, sleep upside down just fine – which was why he was only semi-surprised to find himself hanging from the ceiling. He was starting to get used to his new body, and the more he did, the more he loved it.
Andetto noticed that a Kurss stood on the ceiling next to him. It then disappeared, and Andetto's eyes widened.

Test the transformation spell

Right… Andetto could program thoughts into his delightful furry friends, and when he recalled them, he could remember the thoughts implemented into them via the magic link he shared with every Kurss. A first Kurss must have been used as an alarm clock, and that one, a short-term reminder. These creatures would be more useful than expected.
With that in mind, Andetto dropped from his spot, silently landed on the ground and hopped forth, reaching a window within the room. The moon's gaze stared at him as he looked up to enjoy the view.

Well, now. Andetto thought to himself. Let's test this spell, shall we? He held out his hand as his book of spells appeared within it. He re-read the spell carefully, then whispered a chant of his own making, until a green smoke came out of it, engulfing his tiny body. Seconds later, Andetto stepped out of the smoke and gazed at the window once more with a critical eye. It gave him the image of an anthropomorphic reptilian body. The same bright blue eye rested on the face, and the other was still covered with a fancy eye-patch. The scales showed off a shining green color, save for those on the back of the legs, back of the arms and back of the face. A lot of these were colored in a darker shade of green, which made them appear almost black. Those around the face were close to invisible, however, for Andetto’s new body also came with a black hood surrounding his face, and brown horns on top of it. Monstrous claws could be seen at the tip of his hands and feet.

Perfect...” Andetto whispered in the night. The first step of his big project was complete: he was powerful enough to transform into a fully functional reptilian body, for at least a few minutes. Now, all he had to do was–

“Don't move.”

Andetto frowned and turned back, only to witness a swift shadow move towards him, grabbing his torso with one arm and placing the sharp end of a dagger on his chest.

“I said: don't move,” said the shadow.

Andetto blinked, staring at the figure with calm. “Well… I normally wouldn't have, but brains have weird features.” he said slowly. “Have you ever been told 'don't look now' by a friend, but you looked back anyway? It's why I moved. Big problem with understanding negatives.”

“Who are you? What brings you here?”

“Andetto Myrmidon Five, food and sleep.” Looking closer, Andetto recognized the crimson eyes of Nerezzar, as well as his dark red scales. Well, he's an assassin for a reason, I suppose. he thought to himself. Firm hold, too.

“Andetto doesn't have a reptilian body.” Nerezzar continued.

“No, but he does have a magic book thing.”

“Which he uses to summon minions.”

“Do you honestly believe that a two-hundred pages-strong magical book contains spells related to summoning minions and nothing else?”

Nerezzar brought his blade closer into Andetto's scaly skin. Drops of green blood began to appear on the blade, one of which slowly rolled down Andetto's lithe chest.


“No.” Nerezzar continued. “But I have no memory of any such spell being used by Andetto Myrmidon Five.”

“I'm a rather secretive fellow.” A devious smile appeared on Andetto's reptilian face. “I could just transform back to prove it, but see, I love my quirks too much to let them go.” he slightly approached his friend's face. “Silly-billy sweetheart.”

Nerezzar immediately stepped away from Andetto, looking at him as if struck by lightning. “I-I-I'm sorry, I just...”

“Stay in character, sweetheart, stay in character.” Andetto put a hand on his own chest, passing a finger where Nerezzar had made a cut. Then, he looked at him, and it felt like he finally looked at him for real. Not the body – only the mind. On Earth, Mattathias was quiet, shy, and only ever appeared as sharp and focused as Andetto knew him to be when he was passionate. And here, he had expressed that passion through the body of Nerezzar. He could've easily killed Andetto if he had thought to murder first and ask questions later. Neil would've be wary of that. Respectful of that. But Andetto was used to death. He looked at Nerezzar, and found himself... intrigued.

“U-Um… Are you… A-Are you okay?” Nerezzar whispered, staring into Andetto's eye, trying to avoid the sight of the scar.

As the moon sent its rays of light through the window, a light smile appeared on Andetto's face. He took a step forward. “I–”

Poof!

Andetto's eyes widened and his smile disappeared. “...oh.” Forgot to focus.

Fast as lightning, Nerezzar caught his friend in in his arms, preventing his fall on the ground. Through the green cloud of smoke, Andetto gazed up towards him, realizing that he was back to his old form. “Thanks, sweetheart. I can fall back on my feet just fine, though.”

“Just… Just a reflex.”

“What's happening, here?”

Nerezzar turned back, with Andetto still comfortably stuck in his arms. Andetto giggled at Arawn, who had spoken, visibly confused. Several other members of the group had also woken up, wondering about the noise.

“Oh, nothing to worry about.” Andetto assured, gazing up at Nerezzar with a sly grin. “Turns out Nezzy loves furballs.”


Image



The following morning, the group moved out of the inn and journeyed back into the forest. They had eaten well and rested well, but still strode silently. Moving his eye away from his spell book, Andetto looked at them, surprised to find them in such a grumpy state. He gazed up towards Nerezzar – who had accepted to hold Andetto while he read – and noticed that he certainly didn't seem as saddened as the others. Despite the serious look plastered on his face, his tail sometimes whipped the air happily.

“Here we are!” Arthur exclaimed as the group stopped after him. Arthur pointed towards a large glittering glade bathing in the morning light of the shining sun. Then he turned back and pulled out his halberd, facing the group with a gentle smile. “So, who'd like to begin? Don't worry, this isn't a battle to the death or anything. It's just sparring, so I won't do anything rash.”

“Well, I certainly will.” Andetto replied as he closed his spell book. He jumped out of Nerezzar's arms and landed in front of Arthur's, who's suddenly fierce gaze indicated that he was back to being Arawn. Arawn, then, made the smile plastered on his lips grow larger. “Figured you'd go first.” he commented. “You were always the eager one. Who do you want to spare against?”

“You're only asking that to be polite, sweetheart.” Andetto replied. “No need for that here, I'm an imp. I'm not gonna fight fair.”

“Well, that's true. Guess I'll hold back a little less, then?”

“Yes, please.”

The two friends fell silent as Andetto began bouncing in place. The rest of the group moved away from the glade as Andetto slowly bounced backward until he was around fifteen steps away from his opponent.
Then, without warning, the battle began.

Andetto had just stopped bouncing when Arawn dashed forward, looking to stick Andetto between the two, crescent fork-like points of his halberd's blade. Andetto jumped over it, but Arawn had clearly expected it: midway through is motion, he gazed upward before Andetto reached his line of sight, then used his second hand to point at him. A group of large vines appeared from the ground to pursue the imp, attempting to bind him in place.

Acknowledged: smart fighter. Andetto thought. Uses both physical and magical skills naturally, and with ease. To Arawn's visible surprise, Andetto summoned – without his book – a Kurss right below him and jumped on it, as if it were a floating platform. The vines crushed the Kurss and continued chasing after Andetto, who simply jumped higher by summoning Kurss after Kurss. By the fifth one, Andetto decided not to jump, but to leap forward. To move forward. To use his body's agility for real.

“Wh–!”

Arawn had only had the time to inhale that claw marks appeared on the side of his torso, and Andetto suddenly appeared behind him, as if he had warped from one place to another. Hearing the slight “woosh” that accompanied Andetto's next move, Arawn turned back, but Andetto was already gone. He had jumped towards a tree, turned back, then used it as a foothold to dash yet again, slashing Arawn's skin once more in the process. He repeated his action a third time, but this time, Arawn managed to move away at the last second, avoiding the claw's strike.

I missed, or he dodged. Andetto thought, frowning as he moved again. Fourth dash towards Arawn – another miss. He dodged for sure. Andetto couldn't help but feel slightly stressed. Four full-speed dashes was all it took for Arawn to get used to his speed. That was bound to become problematic. Andetto, unfortunately, made the accidental mistake of thinking too long about his next action, which brought him to remain two seconds more than necessary on the ground before bouncing back towards one of the surrounding trees. Immediately, vines came out of the ground to catch him, but he leaped anyway, dodging the surprise attack at the last moment.

“Wow.” Andetto commented after reaching the safety of a high tree. “One step on the ground and I'm captured? I really can't make any mistake with you, can I?”

“Well, I didn't exactly slack off while staying here for a year.” Arawn replied. “And clearly, I'll be in trouble if I don't do this.”

“Oh, but you'll be in trouble no matter what, silly-billy.” Andetto flashed his demonic grin. “For Andetto Myrmidon V never runs out of ideas to put foes in this wonderful land called misery.” Having said that, Andetto dashed yet again. The last thing he saw was a smiling Arawn attempting to stab him with his halberd before a Kurss appeared for Andetto to use as a platform to change direction.

“Wha–”

The reaction confirmed Arawn's surprise yet again as Andetto leaped over him, then summoned another Kurss to bounce back towards Arawn's, slashing him from the back. But once again, it only took a few hits for Arawn to get used to Andetto's new movements. During the following seconds, Andetto tried every feint and every trick he could come up with, with it always seemed like Arawn could tell which was the feint and which was the real attack. No matter what angle Andetto attacked from, Arawn turned around to protect his blind spots, or spun his halberd to create a general protection in a direction of his choosing. It was like… It was as if he used his defense to guide Andetto to think a certain way.

It's like an experienced fighting game player fighting off a newbie. Andetto thought to himself. None of the things I'll come up with will faze him more than a few seconds. Andetto attacked one more time, and this time, his eyes widened – for he had to quickly move on the side, narrowly dodging a precise thrust from Arawn's halberd. Andetto slid on the ground and turned back, raising his clawed hands. Five Kursses appeared. Then, Andetto spread his arms on each side of his body. Like shielding ghosts, they followed the motion, spreading in a simple line of defense in front of Andetto. But as Arawn slowly turned to face him, no vines came out of the ground. Instead, they lowly began to surround Arawn himself. They stared at each other, ignoring the frequent whispers of the group. They still watched the battle.

“...How many?” Andetto began. “How many like me have you encountered in your year here? I thought there was only one of me, in this world.”

“There is.” Arawn assured. “But you're not the only one who likes to dart around. Let's just say I'm used to speed in general. It's not really your fault, you know. You're already way more creative by yourself. Especially considering the body you have.”

“That's sweet of you, and good to know. So! What's next? Last showdown?”

“Well, we both could do this for a long time without actually doing much damage to the other.” Arawn commented. “So, yeah, Last showdown.” Arawn placed his weapon the ground. Vines began to surrounded the blade side of his halberd, as if to equip it with extra features, alongside a strange, forest green aura. Barb-like spikes surrounded the vines as they took the shape of a bigger, sharper spearhead.

“That certainly looks threatening.” Andetto commented. Then, he gazed at each of his Kursses, chanting a spell as he did. In mere seconds, their claws and teeth grew twice their normal size, alongside their bodies. Then, Andetto jumped above them and raised his hands. With a bright light, all five Kursses suddenly merged with him. And it was at that moment that he whispered a new chant, until a green smoke came out of it, engulfing his morphing body.

“Allow me to properly threaten you back.” Andetto continued with a melodious voice. He stepped out of the smoke and came out as he did the previous night: with an anthropomorphic reptilian body with his signature bright blue eye turned yellow, and the other still covered with a fancy eye-patch. This time, however, the scales' normally shining green color were dark green instead, and his right hand featured a mutated, thick pike-like claw that acted as a replacement for his actual hand. He adjusted his black hood with his other hand as he bent his knees, ready to spring forward. His hidden eye lit up surrounded by a blue, flame-like aura.

“You… Never cease to surprise me,” Arawn commented.

“Thanks. it's what I do.”

Then, silence.
A heavy silence, so loud that it forced the spectators' mouths shut. The two warriors had stopped all movements, staring each other down as the moment spread to eternity. Wind began to howl, dead leaves came and went, and tree branches moved from one side to another, yet the fighters remained unmoving, like statues of predators forever locked in their chosen battleground, in their natural habitat. After a long minute of utter stillness, the wind came to a stop, and the silence was whole again.

No one exactly knew when they moved, but the warriors did move. With a single step, Andetto left a deep footprint on the ground as he dashed forward. At the same time, Arawn perfoThen, Andetto brought his arm forward, impacting with Arawn's halberd as they unleashed a fierce battlecry. A violent shock wave resulted from the collision, bending the surrounding trees and blowing away leaves, grass and rocks. Focused on their clash, the two fighters kept on pushing forth. Then, Andetto's eyes widened as he witnessed the vines around Arawn's halberd crack open and spread out in an attempt to constrict his new reptilian body.

Move! With a puff of green smoke, Andetto rapidly changed form and summoned a Kurss to jump over.

“Oh no you don't!” Arawn dropped his weapon and turned back, holding both arms forward as a first vine rapidly came from the ground and wrapped itself around one of Andetto's foot. Four followed, catching the rest of the body and pulling him back on the ground.

“Drat, drat, DRAT!” He cast off his body upgrades and summoned five Kursses behind Arawn. “Formation Cro–”

Neil!”

Andetto's eyes widened. “...What?” he asked after a few seconds.

“In these moments, you should break character.” Arawn told him softly as he sat down in front of him.

Andetto blinked, staring at Arawn with awe. “...But… I… Right. Right, I… This is practice.”

“Yeah. It's practice.”

“...Sorry, sweetheart.” another silence. Then, a frown. “That attack, back then. Was it a Cú Chulainn reference?”

Arawn chuckled. “Well. I did consider naming it Gáe Bulg, but it's too obvious.”

“So, you changed it?”

“I named it Sétanta instead.”

Andetto shook his head. “Typical.”

“Really?”

“Yes. But it's okay, sweetheart. I'm glad you're still a mythology nerd.”

“And I'm glad you can still catch my references.”

Neil let out a giggle. “it's what I do.”
"Is there a limit to how much living I can live with my life? How will I know if I've gone too far?
And why did I spend my life savings on sunglasses for a whale?
I shall find the answers... to these questions."





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Sun Jan 13, 2019 10:28 pm
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Mageheart says...



Spoiler! :
Ḯ̵̗̭͍̚͘ ̴̝̣̐̍k̴͍̓̽͌̒n̸̦̅͗͜ǫ̵̭̲̮͊̎͝w̵͚͊̂̈́̿ ̷̛̰̠̌̕͜͝I̷̜̅̊̋ ̴̹̜̼̉s̵͔̺̟̋̃̓͠h̵̭̲̀̆̒ờ̴̡̭̲̬̉u̶̙̞̥͑͝l̵̩̠͚̖̅̓̀͐d̵̳̗͂ ̷̢̈́̆̀f̶̡̛͓̑̅̽è̴̟e̸̝͙̞̽͠l̴̝̝͖̕ ̸͔͕́g̶̛̻͍̰̤̈́u̸̩̚͝ì̷̠̪͕͚l̴̙̫͇̚t̶̝͉̻͝y̵̧̥̳̙͒̈̍̕ ̷̛̞͙̇f̷͈̍o̶͉̯̰̍̈̾͝r̵̹͚̦͆̑͘ ̶̢̝͌͋͜w̴̹̜͂̂i̵̡̫͎̙̽́̐͠s̸͇͝h̷̬̯̠́͠i̷̹̗̎̋̔n̸̨̮̺̖̑̎̐̈́g̴̛̜̰̙̈̓
̷̦͇̫̜̄̌t̷̗̃ȟ̵̰̯̪̇a̴͍̻͒́ṫ̶̰̓͗̚͜ ̵͕͉̱͗͌̌̅i̵̢͇̦̐̿͘̕ͅt̴̪̝̊ ̸͙̾̈́͗ẃ̴̜͉̹͠a̴̢̪͎̋͒̀̃s̵̱̍ ̷̨̣͆̀j̶̼̓̂ũ̶̹s̸̤̳̄͝t̶͕̟̅ͅ ̵͓͖͑̎͊̾ü̸̗͚͑͗̕s̸͍̲̙̠͋̈́̚.̴͉̹̈͜
̵̣̝̣̞͂͑̒͠B̵̨̺̠̣́̀͛̍ừ̸͓̓̈́ţ̶͈̬̜̎̔̾͑ ̷̦̽I̴͕̪̊ ̸̠̮̖͑d̴̹̻͝ő̴̪̖̪̗͆̇͠n̷̤̤͖͝'̸̯̑̆̈́t̸̻̩͐͊͑́.̶͈̖̰̋̾̈́̐


Arthur Croft

Arawn


After finishing his bout with Neil, Arthur took to watching the others spar. He may have been living on this world for nearly a year, but it was still strange to watch battles unfold between people with abilities he could have only dreamed of. He sat down on the cold earth and pulled his legs close, resting his chin in the cusp of his hand as he put his elbow on his knee. The magic they used was beautiful to watch—magic always was. If there was anything he didn't miss about Earth, it was the lack of magic. It was hard to imagine a life now where it wasn't somehow involved.

Their fighting, on the other hand, wasn't half as spectacular. Their movements were somewhat professional, thanks to muscle memory and instinct, but there was still a clumsy touch to them. It was hard not to feel afraid as he saw them stumble around with their attacks and abilities. Sora could fly with Sofia's wings and cast a spell or two, but he nearly crashed multiple times. Nora could throw May's knives, but her aim was ever so slightly off—Arthur had to intervene with his vines to prevent Sora from getting stabbed in the eye. Ellen was having the same problem with Fay's bow and arrows when fighting Jin. Jin could play Sooho's gayageum, but it was clear that the piano was his true instrument of choice when he hesitated between playing notes. Andy was clearly afraid of seriously injuring Amy with Mihael's knives, and Amy was having the same problem with Bo's lightning. George almost lit a tree on fire when Lilith's fire narrowly missed Matt's feet; Matt, in turn, surprised both himself and George when he suddenly brought an illusion to life.

Even Neil's attacks had been flawed, to an extent. He was good, but nowhere near as good as Andetto would have been if this was just their roleplay.

None of them were supposed to be fighters.

He let out a heavy sigh. He wasn't supposed to be a fighter, either, but a year stuck as Arawn had changed that. He could easily become a single entity with his halberd or magic now; when the situation called for it, he could even do the same thing with Riken. The shadow was a good partner, even though communication was never easy. It was strange to think that he had once been afraid of Riken—now, he couldn't imagine traveling without it.

The sparring suddenly came to an abrupt stop. His friends fumbled to put away weapons, and magic was extinguished with frantic expressions. Then, almost comically, every person try to adopt some semblance of their character. Neil, Jin, Nora, and Matt made up the group of people silently watching whoever had just appeared behind Arthur. Andy was an honorary member, giving what looked suspiciously like a distrustful glare. Sora launched into an impromptu conversation with George, who was giving him a look filled with childish curiosity as he rambled on about flugel abilities that he had likely taken from No Game No Life. Ellen was impatiently shifting her weight from one foot to the other. Amy was giving the person behind Arthur a big, warm smile.

He turned, already knowing who he was going to see.

Riken was standing behind him.

“Hi, Riken,” he said, smiling.

Riken returned his greeting with one of its own, though it was hard to understand what exactly it was thanks to the static that accompanied its garbled words. Arthur barely was able to hide a frown at the tone. He glanced back at his roleplaying friends, torn between expressing his concern at how melancholy Riken seemed and pretending that nothing was wrong. Arawn wasn't supposed to worry about things like that; he was supposed to be a loner. But Arthur wasn't, and he had been Arthur from the moment he met Riken. He opened his mouth to say something, but couldn't find the right words.

Riken fell back into silence as well.

“So!” Ellen interjected, causing Arthur to nearly jump in the surprise at the sound of her—Fay's—voice. “What's the plan now that Riken's back, Arawn?”

Now he froze. Why was Ellen asking him what they should do? He wasn't even the oldest one present! Nora and George were both older than him by several years, and a few other people were adults as well—though they were just barely eighteen. But as he glanced at the faces of the other people present and saw how they were try to hold back their confusion and worry, he realized that he was the only one who truly got Aeyis. Keith wasn't here. Keith was the one who had created this world—the one who knew every bit of lore possible, and the one who could easily guide them through a whole host of threats.

If he was here, he could have easily taken the helm.

But he wasn't, and Arthur was the only one who came close to possessing the same about of knowledge as the leader of their roleplay. It was frightening to think that he suddenly had to worry about an entire group of people instead of just him and Riken. What if he made the wrong choice? It wouldn't be hard. If he led them to a place that didn't have answers, or a place with a foe they couldn't beat, he'd be betraying the trust they had just invested in him.

He took a deep breath.

“We need to find K,” he said. “We still have no idea how you were transported to this forest, and he would surely-”

He faltered, noticing how Riken was staring at him. It was with the same attention that the others were giving him, but it felt strange to be receiving it from both the people he knew from Earth and someone who only knew him as a dark faery from Aeyis. His mind wandered back to their first meeting—to how Riken had been staring at him from above, to how it ducked behind the altar the moment he frantically waved Arawn's halberd around, to how it peeked above him with the same look that it had now, and to how its friendly and awkward personality was the reason he hadn't felt so terrified when he realized he was stuck as Arawn.

It was then that he knew where they had to go.

“It would be best to return to the shrine I perished in,” he said.

The shrine had to have something in it. Riken hadn't used its own abilities to help him; it had used one of the artifacts. Nothing had happened when he had tried messing around with it afterwards, but maybe it had been something else that had caused him to get stuck. And if he could figure out what got him trapped as Arawn, he would be one step closer to determining how the others had also gotten stuck as their characters.

Riken folded its arms. It said something, but he unsurprisingly couldn't it make out among the static. When he didn't reply, it threw its arms up in exasperation and gestured wildly in the direction of his other friends.

“K might have returned there,” he hesitantly explained.

Riken massaged its shadowy temples and said something else, clearly growing frustrated with him for reasons he couldn't understand. He resorted to staring blankly at it. This did little to help its mood, and its almost angrily returning to being moving darkness on his face instead.

He let out a sigh.

“It will be a longer journey than you are used to, and we will spend a good portion of it walking,” he informed the roleplayers. For their characters, it wouldn't be that much. It didn't even phase him after the time he had spent as Arawn. But for people who came from a world that thrived on the convenience of cars and trains, a two-to-three day walk was definitely going to be a difficult challenge.

“A little exercise never hurt,” Amy said with a grin. “Lead the way, Arawn!”
mage

[ she/her, but in a boy kinda way ]

roleplaying is my platonic love language.

queer and here.








if ya mention chickens, i have to show up, that is the law.
— alliyah