SF's "Write Your Butt Off" Competition HD II.5 Remix

[AnonymousSpeed]

Oh wow sorry everyone. I've been away at the beach for some reason and, you know, it was just a bad time to forget to set the poll to close automatically. My bad.

With that said, congratulations to @SoulWeaver, may the prompt come quickly and be inspirational.

Or, just...be whatever the bro wants it to be, really.

***

On 4/20/2019 at 9:24 PM, Shoblongoo said:

You two bicker like an old Jewish couple.

"Oy vey! I haven't seen such chutzpah since the Six Days War! I never should have trusted that good for nothing schlemiel of a shadchan- I paid him double for introducing us, and I regret every shekel like it was two shekels!"

***

Hope y'all enjoyed your snickers and your holiday.

[SoulWeaver]

What the heck on so many levels. Sorry, guys, I would have added a vote and probably made the tie worse, but I managed to not have access to a comp for a couple days and reading stuff on mobile is obnoxious.

Alright, here we go, hopefully this is relatively easy while still managing to stretch you guys. I'll probably also post a for-funsies one for your enjoyment/amusement/whatever, this prompt occurred because of a weird idea I had.

'Write a piece depicting something in a different light than it usually is depicted'

Hopefully self-explanatory - take the way we look at something, and flip it a different way. Easy example, take a movie or game and write a scene from the bad guys' PoV, slightly harder example, do a thing that points out how something we all take for granted is actually pretty messed up when you stop and look at it right. If nobody's down for this I have another idea or two I can run up instead.

[Jotari]

Hmm. I think I have something good for this that I've been wanting to do for a while. Not sure what the normal perspective is though. I'll probably go for it anyway.

[TheSilentChloey]

I may have something for it XD

[Azure the Scale Tipper]

I have decided on something Fire a Emblem-related for this.

[Ottservia]

Interesting so basically you want us to subvert our expectations on something. I think I make something out of that.

[Dragoncat]

Got an idea for this one!

Edited April 23, 2019 by Dragoncat

[Azure the Scale Tipper]

Been writing my stuff on paper at school (trust me, I am still focusing on class, I’m just doing it in downtime). Will transfer to iPad at home whenever I can, so i can finish a draft on there and then edit if needed.

How much time are we expected to get this done?

[Ottservia]

38 minutes ago, Azure in a Roundabout said:

How much time are we expected to get this done?

about two weeks there should be a timer on the original post when @AnonymousSpeed decides to update it

[Jotari]

3 minutes ago, Ottservia said:

about two weeks there should be a timer on the original post when @AnonymousSpeed decides to update it

Two weeks? I thought it was like three weeks, with a week of voting to make each round approximately a month long.

[Anacybele]

I'm not sure what to write for this one. I'll have to see what can come to mind.

[Interdimensional Observer]

*Bites tongue, but proceeds to speak with blood being spit with every rolling pronunciation*

This topic might be workable for me, just maybe. It's not too character-centric, my great weakness as I've stated before. But I'm not quite sure I have a good idea the one I can readily conceive, it's too detached for most. And this slight twist I have in mind might be objectionable to the rules of this low-key competition.

[Bhoop]

So we have two weeks to make this? Interesting prompt... I have an idea.

 

Edited April 23, 2019 by Bhoop

[AnonymousSpeed]

Sorry I have been slow with the updating the posts and the polls and all that. I was being all kinds of thrown off.

 

20 hours ago, SoulWeaver said:

'Write a piece depicting something in a different light than it usually is depicted'

 

Hopefully self-explanatory - take the way we look at something, and flip it a different way. Easy example, take a movie or game and write a scene from the bad guys' PoV, slightly harder example, do a thing that points out how something we all take for granted is actually pretty messed up when you stop and look at it right. If nobody's down for this I have another idea or two I can run up instead.

I have a very stupid idea for this.

I will do my best to realize it.

 

7 hours ago, Jotari said:

Two weeks? I thought it was like three weeks, with a week of voting to make each round approximately a month long.

Three weeks is just the length of the round, not the writing phase. Might have gotten my honorary entry done if that were the case.

 

6 hours ago, Interdimensional Observer said:

*Bites tongue, but proceeds to speak with blood being spit with every rolling pronunciation*

This topic might be workable for me, just maybe. It's not too character-centric, my great weakness as I've stated before. But I'm not quite sure I have a good idea the one I can readily conceive, it's too detached for most. And this slight twist I have in mind might be objectionable to the rules of this low-key competition.

*dude do you need some neosporin or something*

I wouldn't say character focused writing is necessarily a bad thing. Go ahead and try to write it- the whole point of the competition is not to select a winner, but to get people to start writing and sharing that with others. It would be great for you to participate, don't worry too much about detachment or rule bending or whatever.

Edited April 24, 2019 by AnonymousSpeed

[Jotari]

43 minutes ago, AnonymousSpeed said:

Sorry I have been slow with the updating the posts and the polls and all that. I was being all kinds of thrown off.

 

I have a very stupid idea for this.

I will do my best to realize it.

 

Three weeks is just the length of the round, not the writing phase. Might have gotten my honorary entry done if that were the case.

 

*dude do you need some neosporin or something*

I wouldn't say character focused writing is necessarily a bad thing. Go ahead and try to write it- the whole point of the competition is not to select a winner, but to get people to start writing and sharing that with others. It would be great for you to participate, don't worry too much about detachment or rule bending or whatever.

Huh. I've been doing these since the first incarnation. You'd think I would have realized that.

[TheSilentChloey]

So a few people wanted more details XD here you all go:

 

ETA: Also should note this is MA...

A Dragon's First Mission Redux

Words: 9,378

Spoiler

“You have got to be fucking with me!” I yelled at Master Mahad blonde hair falling around my face as my blue eyes narrowed dangerously.  I'd been a trainee, or Sharika for five years now. I didn't see why my first mission had to be what Master Mahad had said was destroying a queen vampire.  I'd only ever seen one of them before and I was still recovering from the near loss of my lunch on that. Queens were known to literally be maggot-like creatures, with a belly so bloated they couldn't  move, so their coven had to hunt for them.

 

Unfortunately for humans, the queens of the coven needed human males in order to keep producing a stable brood, and thus most human men were captured by the hive and bartered about like the old black slaves in human history, at least the vampires had some degree of human intelligence to physically do that.  The things those humans saw...well I didn't doubt it would break their minds after a while.

 

After all, I knew better than most about that.  Especially their dying thoughts as the vampires removed the illusory effect of their pheromones.  I shuddered, “I don’t wanna do it!” I yelled. Considering there were many different types of vampires, why did I have to clean these ones out with Setonara?  Why not the solid ice-like ones who simply glittered in the sun and tried to avoid our notice by trying to blend in with the humans?

 

There was a couple of coverns- “families” as they called themselves- of them who we left alone since they didn't want to harm humans and had found an alternate food source- a small few compared to the majority who still hunted humans for sustenance.  It'd be a hell of a lot better than those writhing masses of flesh oozing with blood and disgusting secretions in some backwater location as the scent of pheromones permeated the air in a cloying almost all ability to smell had I been human. As a flier I was immune to the pheromones so it just smelled like the disgusting shit that it was only like someone poured out acid or something equally unappealing.

 

I remembered the last time I saw such a creature trapped within the walls of the Dezuran's training quarters to acclimate Sharika with the scent and sight of the creatures so that we would be prepared to hunt them when the time came for us to be Shamen.  I will never forget the sickening sight.

 

It- as I said before- was a disgusting maggot like creature, which is the best way to describe this particular type of vampire since most words that could be used to describe it really don't do justice since there isn't really a clear way for the words to make a clear enough picture.

 

Deathly pale skin made it look like it was very much dead, its elongated body bloated with blood that was from a dead cow hanging above it.  The body constantly undulating as it struggled to drain the naturally deceased animal to create enough of a blood reserve to spout out its eggs and produce drones to go hunting for both mates and food.  Though it couldn't as there just wasn't enough blood for it to use to nourish itself- and the animal had a special poison that prevented the queen from producing young, despite its frantic attempts to do so, which was how things were for the one held in the training facilities.

 

As it spilled secretions from what Lady Isis told us- those in my training group, one female named Gineve I think as well as her brother Jarek, the twins Amit and Amun oh and that annoying brat, Sarim- that were the source of the pheromones from gaping pores so large I could have shoved my entire fist into it and not block it.  Setonara’s full sized fist, however most certainly could have, however he was a fully grown male.

 

I half muttered that it looked like cow shit as it oozed out of the pores from Great One knew where this disgusting ooze was coming from inside the queen's filthy body.  Lady Isis then said rather calmly,

“It is residual blood that the young drink to grow to adult size within an hour or two, while the queen is free to produce yet more young, she doesn't give much care to the young drones than this.  A bit like how ants reproduce except they require healthy virile human men to achieve their insemination once every month or so, depending on the queen's age of course younger queens are less likely to need one than older ones as the younger ones have greater strength initially, however they are not capable of true combat in most cases.”

“Eww!” Sarim had said.  He was the only human in our group.  An orphan I think, taken in by the Ryanmeto tribe and slotted to marry his soul partener soon.  I don't know. I didn't care because he was supposed to be somewhat skilled enough to keep up with the rest of us.  Or maybe…

 

My train of thought stopped as Master Mahad's voice spoke, “Yuganna, you’ve completed your training, you are a full fledged Shamen now.  You’ll be working with your cousin Setonara, if that helps make it easier for you to complete this mission.”

I groaned in response. “Fine.” I pouted unceremoniously especially since with Setonara at least, the mission wouldn't be so bad.

 

Setonara was a Sharaman of course, used to all kinds of missions and this particular one was perhaps mildly easy enough to start with since the only combat would come from the other vampires.  Queens were not known for their combat prowess so it was an easy enough start to Shamen life and eventual Sharaman life, “I guess I was bound to do my first ever mission at some point.” I said with a roll of my eyes.  “So then where are we meant to go?” I said red and black spined wings folding to my back as the fabric I was wearing gave me a good indication as to what my tail was doing. Currently flicking like a cat's when the creature was annoyed and looking for a fight, at least I assumed that's why the cat's tail did that I had yet to actually encounter such a creature personally but knew of it through other minds I'd “heard”.

 

“You’ll have three weeks to prepare for the mission.” Master Mahad said with a smile, the kind of smile that told me he was sure it would be a success and he wasn't worried in the slightest as to what would happen.  Great One I wish I had that level of confidence about me. Still maybe I could ask my Yami- my mother- for advice. After all my Yami was one of the most famous fliers in existence. Everyone knew Yamara of the Desher flier tribe and her mate, the Seer Râtân of the Minorâ Tribe.  Doubtless Yami would have plenty advice for me.

 

“We’ll need to coordinate with the people who were being attacked to see if they have some more information about the nature of the attacks.  The area that they are in is quite remote so getting information has been difficult however if they’re able to help us pinpoint the nest of Vampires, hopefully we can work out a timeframe for you both to work with.  Assuming it will not take you very long, of course.”

 

Right...vampire nests...the joys of walking through decrepit, dank and blood soaked Great One knows what gore- ranging from bits of brains to intestines to broken fragments of bone or even (much worse I can tell you) partly smashed and broken bodies strewn about the area in varied states of decay, a stench that was almost as bad as the queens’ disgusting pheromones which those of us fliers were immune to- thank the Great One.

 

And if that wasn't enough to make anyone lose their lunch- I should know because I had to learn to hold my food down as part of my training to withstand the smell which was a hundred times worse given the sensitivity of my nose- then there was the smell of death that could throw even the most stubborn of fliers off their game.  Which was the point. Vampires were our natural enemies, in all of their forms. Their nests were naturally meant to throw us off our game and confuse us so we'd not kill them and they'd have a chance to escape. There was a reason vampires did not engage us in open combat. We'd just mow them down like zombies- those things were even more disgusting but lacked intelligence to put up much of a fight, plus their numbers were so small it didn't really cause much problems- a plague of zombies could be wiped out with a small swipe of a venom-laced tail after all.  Though I could see why humans had so much trouble with them, nasty filthy things zombies were.

 

Oh and Children of the Moon are also natural enemies to us, though they mostly got all but wiped out from existence since vampires don't like them either and seemed to go on a campaign of systematically wiping them out since they seemed to have some war going on between the two species.

 

Luckily for those of us fliers, we were immune to all of them if they ever dared to bite us.  However- this isn't just for shits and giggles- our job is to eventually eradicate the vampires like the werewolves so that no human would ever again be threatened by them and the only ones that are left are the ones that are contained in the Dezuran training quarters, Setonara's mother Kasahira and those two families of vampires who are no threat to humans.

 

There were some species of them that had already been wiped out, they only existed within the walls of the Dezuran's training quarters, exposing Sharika to them so that should they reappear, we'd be ready to deal with them.  I guess? I didn't really understand the Masters reasoning on that one, but I suppose it did help our training so more power to us? That said we had a lot of training, five years of it actually before we were classed as Shamen.

 

Though the werewolves are kind of not that bad compared to some of the vampires, unless full moon of course because they completely go mad and will attack anything and everything.

 

They didn't mind staying in the training quarters and some were actually quite polite when they weren't transformed, it was odd that they were kept there at all but I guess- assume actually- that these people didn't want to be cured in anyway.  Maybe they felt that we should be able to deal with them to learn about the Children of the Moon as well.

 

I knew that as a newly promoted warrior, or Shamen it would be my job to fight alongside a Sharaman- a title given to an experienced fighter- for the next three years since I was fresh out of training.  So my cousin would be the one who fit the bill this time. Curse him and his ten years seniority on me! I let my hands unclench and gripped my Cherick- training blade in human terms- in hand as I pulled it out to look at it since this would be the last time I would need it for good- at least unless I was training apparently.

 

The blade was designed with a flier like me in mind.  The length of it was not meant to cut since I was until today a Sharika.  I didn't have to fight and I was mostly trained in swordplay against opponents who could fight back with some semblance of intelligence to know what they were doing- though some vampires were smart not a whole lot of them were.

 

My own kind could deal a dangerous amount of damage to me if we fought with proper swords.  Besides the Dezuran's policies meant that as a Sharika I wasn't allowed to wield a proper blade until I was a Shamen anyway for that reason.  Also now that I thought about it, sparring matches were highly controlled as well. The aim was to avoid damage but to get in practice on how to fight.

 

I had three weeks to mentally prepare myself for my first mission as a Shamen, I hoped Yami would be proud of me though my own self doubts were beginning to surface.  I was uncertain if I could handle it...after all it was a huge step from a Sharika.

 

I looked to my gear uncertain.  

 

As a Sharika I'd worn a simple shift dress with long sleeves, I didn't wear gloves and wore simple leather forearm guards.  The dress was just above the knee, a pale teal colour with the neckline being a mid tone pink fringed with white. In the centre of the neck was the mark of my tribe, the Desher Flier Tribe, a tribe that originally was made some five thousand years before with the graceful Lady Namara, a flier who's long black hair and dark olive skin was the only hint of our Egyptian heritage.  She was still alive even after all this time and was my Great Gayami.

 

The creation of flier kind- if the myths were to be believed- was that a male ice or diamond vampire bred a female dragon- you know those fire breathing lizards in the humans tales that slaughter them and steal treasure or princesses or both?  Yeah we're descended from those things according to the myth- the female laid a single clutch of four eggs.

 

The first one that hatched was Lady Namara, in our natural half human half dragon form.  The second one, Lord Shesep, the third Lord Minorâ and the last one, Lady Kemet.

 

It's also said that a twisted man took the seed of a dragon and used it to impregnate his daughter and she died giving birth to the founders of the four tribes since their wings ripped her open from the inside as her body tried to birth them.  What else are they but myths?

 

Though that last one has some credibility since my Yami did accidentally kill her Yami when she was born, Yami's wings having ripped her Yami's body open and given Gayami internal bleeding since Gayami was a human...

 

Of course I haven't actually met Lady Namara or the other founders as they spend most of their time on missions.  Though it doesn't matter. I didn't pay attention to the history lessons since who needs it when we have to stab vampires for a living?  It was a question for another time, when I was a bit more older than I am at present.

 

This mission was going to be the first true blood I'd ever drawn.  My first real fight and training was well and truly over now.

 

I had of course the ability to “hear” others thoughts- difficult to tune out at times- and I had “heard” countless young Sharika being told when they were ready for their first missions.  Most were ecstatic about it, some sad, perhaps because they were no longer Sharika, and others who were afraid. Afraid that they would die, afraid that they had not paid enough attention to Lady Isis, Master Mahad, Master Raphael and Lady Rafaela- the latter missing one of her eyes from the time before she came to join the ranks of the Dezuran Masters, her single remaining eye silver as a sign of what she was.

 

I had dared to ask her how she lost her eye once.  The question innocent enough I had assumed until she looked pained, I had stammered my apologies at the time but she spoke, “I lost my eye trying to contain my older sister's soul while her body awakened.  Her form I am sure you're aware of, given your unique ability.” She was right I could see it in my own mind as if I was Lady Rafaela.

 

The cat-like form standing up as control slipped away a tail covered in gnawing greedy hungry mouths that wanted to devour all the flesh they could consume- an experiment gone massively wrong as Lady Rafaela desperately tried to cling to what humanity was left inside that beast, blood pouring out of numerous wounds- worst of all her left eye nothing more than blood pouring out of the socket as the fleshy globe dangled uselessly in her cupped hand covered with blood- inflicted by those tails as dead bodies of once comrades- pooled in their own blood- laid strewn about the area, ripped open as intestines were ripped out of them while the poor women were still physically alive all of their eyes giving a deadened stare- the intestines were what the beast was after- the screams of agony from the dying as they struggled to heal wounds that were much too deep, much too damaging, an agonisingly slow death so monumentally painful their screams would haunt Lady Rafaela even to this day.

 

The slow dripping of blood from the other wounds inflicted by the beast the least of her concerns as she kept screaming, “Luciela!”  Over and over again. I remember actually crying then. I hoped to never see anything like that happen to anyone ever again.  I was almost too scared to ask what happened next.  To this day I have never asked Lady Rafaela what happened to her sister after that.  We all know she was found by Master Mahad, her sister dead in her arms, though how “Luciela” died was a mystery.

 

Yet even as all this ran in my head I knew one indisputable fact.  My draconic instincts thirsted for blood, not the kind of blood that vampires did, but the thrill of a fight.  My mind had a hard time reconciling that as I knew what that meant. It meant things like Lady Rafaela had seen.  It meant potentially watching people I cared about dying in some truly horrific ways as natural enemies clashed time and again.  I knew that my childhood- if it could be called that- was over now. I had a choice to make. More importantly, I realised, there were humans out there who needed my strength, people who unlike Sarim, couldn't defend themselves from all but the mid-level strength vampires.  Sarim was human, trained like us he could handle some vampires. Yet if they got a bite on him it was game over- he'd become one and we'd have to kill him the moment that happened. No use taking a risk and letting him get out of control to go on a murderous rampage like so many others before him.

 

~

 

Three weeks passed quickly, and my Yami wasn't able to see me off as she had a mission of her own to complete, though she assured me she knew I'd do well.  I was nervous.

 

My new armour was being fitted to me.  Pieces protecting my shoulders, upper thighs, shins and forearms designed with flight in mind.  I had a more natural armour in my skin. Of course the set itself didn't take three weeks to prepare- it was done the day I became a Shamen.  My Kakurajack used her nimble hands to deal with buckles and the fitting of my sword sheath. Arya moving with a grace matched only by a dancing Japanese Geisha, if said Geisha was a harmonious blend of both reptile and mammal which a Kakurajack was.  Her skin was smooth like a snake's tiny scales coloured an almost olive green, her tongue darting out every so often to “taste” the air, which was how the Kakurajack saw since they did lack physical eyes in a sense. It was also fairly snake like I supposed.  She didn't have any hair like a mammal, but she did have a moderately sized pair of breasts to nurse her young, much like a mammal. Kakurajacks like Arya were not meant to deal with the colder climbs that some fliers were stationed, Kachiri was a furred Kakurajack who was.  However I didn't see much of Kachiri, and Joy- the medical specialist who was more human than Kakurajack- she had no reason to see me. I wasn't in need of medical attention after all.

 

Arya was almost done fitting the pieces of armour onto my body while I was giving my new Claymore sword a turn over in my hands.  The blade was a light silver colour sharpened to be able to cut flesh like a hot knife through butter, out of a metal known as Durillium, the grip jet black in colour and the pommel had a black gemstone set into the centre, signifying my status as a Quick Blade, a Shamen who’s sword moved at speeds beyond the human eye’s ability to see it.  My Kakurajack moved swiftly as the clanking of black armoured boots announced Setonara’s presence as he arrived to see if I was doubtless ready for this, “You’ll do fine Yuganna.” He said said as I scented him. He was a Sharaman, and for the first time in my life I actually saw his scars in a new light, “Besides, you’re ready for the Claymore now.” He said gripping the hilt of his own Claymore sword at his side, it too was jet black, which meant my cousin was also a Quick Blade.  “A step up from the Cherick huh Yuga?” he was calm but I wasn't about to figure out why he was so relaxed. The difference in our clothing could not be more apparent.

 

He wore dark teal baggy pants that were loose on his well muscled frame.  His shirt was light teal and the neck was the same pink and white with his Shesep Tribe emblem prominently displayed.  He had a single shoulder pauldron on his left shoulder, his right arm completely exposed, showing off all manner of scars as if he'd had his arm sliced apart at some point.  His face was marred by a massive scar that ran through his discoloured right eye, down the right hand side of his face looping around his jaw and halfway up the left side of his face.  His fringe had a long piece that sat over the left side of his nose. The rest of his brown hair was short. Blue eyes looked into my own and I could see his slit like pupils were slightly wider, a sign he was calm.

“Y-yeah.” I said wincing at how nervous I sounded I was trying to project the aura of a Shamen and my failure to do so only highlighted just how much of a child I was compared to him, yet Setonara didn't seem to mind.  I suppose that was one thing I could count on when it came to that bastard.

“Master Mahad would not have sent you if he didn’t feel like you were up to the task.” Setonara said calmly, “He’s a good judge of a Quick Blade.”

“Right so when do we fly?” I asked taking my mind off the black metal plating being placed onto my upper thighs,

“As soon as you’re ready.” He said with a grin, “And comfortable.” He added,

“Right…” I said with a sigh.  “We’ll have vampires trying to murder us.  Always relaxing.” I said shivering at the thought of just how many levels of gross this was going to get.  It wasn't just the “simulated” nests we'd been exposed to as part of our training. This was the real thing.  Which meant coincidentally enough, I would see a whole lot of disgusting things. I wasn't looking forward to that but there wasn't any real choice.  We had people to save,

“Yuga...you know they won’t be able to hurt you.”

“I know.” I said rolling my eyes as the last of my armour was put on, “Let’s just get this over with please?” I said not wanting to prolong this any longer than necessary as I wasn't looking forward to the death I was going to have to witness and knowing what was basically ahead, at least according to my training at any rate.  I hoped that the queen had already gone to the kill the man she may have kept chained up or whatever it was they did to bind him in place to milk him of as much sperm as possible until he was completely spent,

“Okay, if you’re sure.” He said calmly white wings opening up as he absently stretched them.  The scars on his right wing were just as bad as I remembered a sign that some missions were going to be very tough physically, the mental toll however...well I couldn't be the judge of that since I knew we'd have extensive debriefing after this mission was done as our mental health was just important as our physical health.  Of course that meant Joy would be checking on me after the mission, standard procedure of course.

 

Setonara lead the way to the take off pad that we would use to start our journey.  This mission had me uneasy and I wasn't sure why.

 

If there was one thing I didn’t need instruction on it was flying.  As a youngling I had grown up practically learning how to fly with my Yami sometimes on her back as she took to the wing and we flew together in the skies about our ancestral home of the upper Nile river.

 

The sands of Egypt flowed below me as Setonara and I flew towards our mission- moving across the skies towards the lands of Russia, a place where I had not been to before now, though cold did not bother a flier as a human may have thought, we still felt it and I certainly didn't like it when it was cold, though contrary to human belief I wasn't a reptile that required sunlight to regulate my body temperature.  My body temperature was self sustained by the food I ate, no different from humans, or other mammals.

 

My wings spread across the skies as I took on my dragon form, my armour designed for both my human and dragon forms.  We had to get up high, higher than most humans travelled in their metal casings they called aeroplanes. It wouldn't do for us to knock into one, considering it would kill the humans inside and cause a lot of damage on our part.  Hardly fair that we should bare the blame for human error, but it was what it was. We just had to fly higher to avoid them. Stupid fucks.

 

I landed behind my cousin as we came to where we were meant to be according to the report, a remote arse town with not even any animals in sight, which was the first anomaly that I noticed with some unease.  I frowned. This wasn't what I expected from a supposed vampire nest. Though I could smell the faintest hint of death on the air. Maybe the freak shows hadn't got enough victims to make enough of a nest. Which meant that the queen would be possibly stronger than usual since it'd be making as many drones as possible, since that was what Lady Isis said that day.

 

The place was off putting to say the very least as we carefully picked our way forward.  All the signs pointed to a young queen and coven. I barely thought ‘Oh shit’ when Setonara motioned to me, “Be on your guard.  We’ve found the nest.” I gulped and trembled. Holy shit this was actually fucking real. Training be damned, this was the real thing.  This was fucking real in a way training couldn't be.  It was something that even with training I couldn't be prepared for.

 

He grinned, “Come on Yuga remember your training it's not that far off what we're dealing with here, okay.” He said and I tried to grin but it was a grimace to be sure.  I didn't know how the hell he could be so calm about this.

“I know you white winged arsehole!  I'm not a fucking Sharika anymore Great One damn it!” I shot back, a bit more aggressively than I intended, but I was still right at least.  He howled with laughter in response,

“That's one way to describe me for sure!” He casually gripped his blade, “Watch your six kid, we'll get these fuckers cleaned out before they can say ‘blood’.”

 

I had to admit Setonara was pretty level headed.  Most of the fliers I knew would have tried to deck me for that kind of comment but in a weird way he was one of the few that actually got where I was coming from.  And he was a smug bastard sometimes that I needed to sort of snap at sometimes, though to be fair we did have our own way of saying how much we actually cared for one another when push came to shove, Seto was someone I could count on when it mattered.  The same could be said of me, too. I'd watch that bastard's back, no matter what.

 

A cold wind blew and the smell suddenly became much stronger.  I felt my eyes water slightly as the smell was almost the kind of rotten stench that would make a human hurl by this point, if they were present to smell the unholy Great One forsaken stench that was the most disgusting side of decay I'd ever smelled, “Holy fuck!” I groaned as I struggled to keep myself from bringing up my last meal, “Ugh...shit…that stench...Great One preserve us...”

Setonara seemed to wince, “A mature nest, not bad...but not exactly good either.  I can't pick up a fresh human so they may have one there, possibly might be breeding with one.”

I felt sick, “So what the queen is likely going to be hilted on a man?  Is that what fuck I think you're fucking saying?” I asked and Setonara sighed,

“Possibly.  Though we might not be lucky enough to save the poor bastard.”

It was a thought I didn't want to have.  “Well fuck. How're we supposed to save the human and get this nest cleaned up?” I asked

“Get the drones’ attention, how the fuck else?” He asked casually grinning widely, he was a real pain in the arse sometimes.  Especially when he was being a smug bastard like he was now. I wanted to deck him.

“Damn nuisance…” I groaned as he calmly walked forward towards a particularly decrepit building.  The likely entrance to a catacomb of tunnels and Great One knew what kind of horrors awaiting us. Fucking vampires and their stupid fucking nests...

 

The first lot of drones scented us and we stood side by side, blades drawn and ready to fight.  It was one thing to deal with a queen of this kind of vampire, another to deal with drones since they were built to fight and were not something a Sharika could handle.  A Shamen however...well I was trained as much as it was possible to be and I didn't feel confident in my abilities, Shamen though I was.

 

Drones were either male of female and were mostly mindless and tended to gather in groups when fighting.  They were humanoids and were capable of concealing their presence to look like regular people, though mostly they didn't need to since they hunted at night and their natural forms were more useful for them.

 

A drone was slightly larger than your average human.  They were usually around the three to four metres in height, with elven like pointed ears and a maw crammed full of multiple fangs.  They lacked physical hair in their full forms, and their eyes were disturbing gaping holes that were almost entirely pupils to let in as much light as humanly possible.  They were usually a dark grey colour, borderline jet black in some cases.

 

Welp looks like there wasn’t take backs now...I grit my teeth.  This just kept getting better. For such a simple mission it was fast becoming clear that a group should have been sent to clean this mess up...though if our information was incorrect…a feeling of fear slid into my gut as I realised we didn't have a choice.  We had to clear this nest out, or else the humans would not be safe.

 

The drones naturally moved as an entire group, mindless they might be but their coordination was something to be admired.  They made it difficult to pick a single target and they were aiming to try to lead us away from the nest. This was one game however they would lose.

 

The night sky reminding me that they thought they had the advantage.  However against hunters like us...yeah not so much. Especially since our eyes were more suited to night than a human's eye was.  Like the beasts of the night those of us fliers had excellent night vision. We could, if focused see in infrared light. Which was the vision I was making use of since the moon wasn't providing enough decent light for me to use.

 

The first mistake came when they broke formation and one ran at Setonara.  Obviously it assumed since we'd not moved that my cousin made for an easy target because we might have been put off by their display.  It was laughable as Setonara flicked his wrist twice. What happened next was predictable. The drone's body exploded into a mess of blood and insides painting the snow purple as it spilled out from expertly sliced wounds, aimed to get the other drones to cease their defense as the scent of blood permeated the air.

 

The other drones, upon smelling blood turned into hunt mode and the group split into smaller more manageable fragments.  Some were already feasting on their fallen sibling. Cannibalism was common among this kind of vampire. I kind of felt sorry for the poor drone.  Yet I knew it was one less one to deal with.

 

I however needed to focus on what I had to do.  This wasn’t going to be pretty…especially since I had to make the movements needed to kill these things.  My sword lodged itself into the throat of a drone and with inhumane speed I ripped it out again, leading to that drone being attacked by more drones as its throat spilled bits of trachea and blood, I'd not made a clean strike of it, fuck!  I should have put less force behind my swing and more weight into the swing. I watched in almost sickened fascination as the drone was torn apart by its brethren. Only to be made aware of one coming at me.

 

I jumped swinging in the air for a full five seconds.  The vampire below me had no idea I could fly clearly. My Claymore sliced it in a neat half as blood and intestines spilled onto the ground as the drones got even more frenzied than before.  Three down and a whole hored to go before we were even remotely finished with this nest.

 

The blade was designed a little differently to how the humans used to make them.  It was heavy mostly; intended as a two handed weapon and it was something that mimicked my Cherick, the blunt version of the blade in my hands now that I was a Shamen.  The edge was all that was different but I still felt off as I fought.

 

I knew that I would have to clean the nest out with my cousin but the ease which he fought was lost to me.  I was still too much of a Sharika because of my lack of experience was most certainly showing compared to my cousin.

 

Any moment now and my enemies would take advantage of that.  I managed to pull alongside him, “How many more?” I yelled over the din of combat as we had began to make a head way on the drones thanks to their focus being on hunting and not defending themselves from us,

“Should be two or three.” He replied not even the least bit worried.  We ducked and I sprung forwards to take out the vampire as we'd started to get into the tunnels and dealing with a surprising few amount of drones given how old the queen should be based on the stench, “We’re nearing the centre of the nest now.  Stay focused Yuga. Tail at the ready; it’s as much of a weapon as your sword.”

 

Ah, he meant the venomous barb on the end of my tail.  I flicked it at the nearest vampire and the creature shrieked in agony as its body started to disintegrate as the venom overwhelmed its system.  My bite to a vampire’s neck was much worse but I didn’t feel like letting my teeth taste their blood just yet. I wasn’t a Sharaman yet and certainly wouldn’t have the presence of mind required not to go into a frenzy myself.  I suddenly became aware of something near me and in perhaps a Sharika mistake forgot to swing my blade at the right moment…

 

The drone's teeth scraped along my arm as I bought my tail up quickly to deal with it before it managed a more proper bite.  I was immune to their venom but the bite would hurt had it got me in a more inconvenient place like my neck, or shoulders. Thank Ra for my armour as the worst of the blow wasn’t serious, black Durilium metal preventing the bite from actually scratching my skin.  My tail hit the vampire right in the chest, blood pouring as the wound was opened up as I ripped my tail out. The drone almost died at once. Setonara grinned at me, “Nicely done Yuga! It’s battles like this that make the Shamen.” He smiled at me.

“Yeah.” I said focusing more on the area now.  So far we’d yet to encounter more vampires as I'd felled the last one.  I smelled a familiar scent and knew it was the queen of this coven. I tried not to think about what we might be encountering.  It was possible that there was some poor bound up human male down in the central part of the nest. He also could very well be dead.  A sick feeling crept up and I spoke trying to be confident in what I was picking up. “Down below, twenty...no...down thirty meters below us, and maybe a living human.” I said and he grinned,

“Good!  You smell it too, hopefully we don't have to see much more death.” He said his tone somber as causally motioned with his hands, and I knew that we still had a while to go just yet.  The mission was important right now. Our feelings on this matter had to be held back.

 

“Now then keep watch because the queen will have a few guards.” He said calmly, flicking blood and gore off his blade, reminding me that I should probably clean my own one while I was at it since I had to maintain my blade, “Nothing we can’t take care of.” his tone held a confidence that I was beginning to feel like I could actually make it through this mission.

 

I followed him down to the central chamber of the nest.  The way was littered with dead bodies. I almost couldn't put my feet down without nearly stepping on a corpse.  Bile rose in my throat unbidden. This level if decay was about as horrific as I'd come to expect, bodies in partial decay as maggots writhed over some of them.  Blood stained the floor where the bodies had been crushed by the movements of the drones as they walked, ran or moved through the nest. There was the strong odor of the queen's pheromones and I knew that we were getting close enough that the guards would have picked us up, if not as we were walking but as soon as we got close enough to the central chamber.  They were not meant to stray too far in case it was a faint.

 

A low groan caught my attention and I looked to Setonara, "Is that-?" I asked and he held his arm out to me, a warning I knew well.  I looked around us and saw a guard drone shot forward, the moment it did my blade was ready for it. I stabbed it cleanly in its chest while Setonara fought another.  The drones were stronger than the usual ones and I had to admit that my blow wasn't as strong as I would have liked. Though my speed certainly made up for it.

 

My sword moved to slice through a third vampire's neck grinding through bone and sinew spilling blood over the already bloodstained ground, though the colour was simply adding to the vomit inducing scene enough already.

 

A fourth guard tried attacking our legs to unbalance us.  I was concerned as these drones were smarter than normal.

 

Setonara was fighting with an experience I truly wish I had.  He bisected a drone and I was lucky enough to deal with the three guards I'd just fought.  We were back to back with the last two guards trying to prevent us from fighting properly. They were trying to find a weakness in our movements.  They were trying to use strategy which I wasn't prepared for. I had to stay focused as best I could as the situation was dangerous. I felt Setonara shift and moved to stab the drone to my left, sword penetrating the drone's lower abdomen.

 

A sharp flick of my wrist split it open and the other drone that was left became more focus on the spilling intestines and blood, its downfall as its head was cleanly sliced off falling onto the ground with a resounding thud as the drone I'd sliced lay on the ground, surrounded by a pool of its own blood.  I made a swift move of my wrist to put the drone out of its misery. I sliced its chest open and that was the end of that. Setonara spoke softly,

"Now is the time to finish this."

 

We made our way into the central chamber for real and I had to resist the urge to be sick where I was standing.  The queen was in the central chamber with a young looking human man who looked deathly pale, not yet starved but definitely weakened from his ordeal.  The man was bound to the back wall of the chamber and was seemingly unconscious- good for him at least since he wasn't aware of his suffering and for the time being at least, he was okay.  Doubtless he was starting to reach the point where-

 

Please...make it stop

 

I froze.

 

Please...no...more...god...please…

 

I looked to Setonara and he nodded.  He might not have heard what I did but we had to act quickly.  The queen was a weakling vampire. Its role was to produce young and breed.  It was not yet ready to breed as it seemed to have just got that human who was hanging by his wrists from the back wall of the chamber, his clothing torn to expose the one thing that the queen cared about, his dick.  He was definitely not the kind of human I would have taken, though his form didn't really matter to the queen. She needed human males to reproduce. With out them all she could do was make drone copies of herself. I couldn't help but pity the poor human.  Doubtless he'd not wanted to be in this position by choice.

 

The queen was of course swollen with unborn vampires.  It didn’t put up a fight at all. Setonara killed it and that ended our mission.  Yet not entirely. There was the human to be saved. I walked up to him and used my blade to break the bindings that was holding him.  The area was clean of vampires now, but this human needed to cared for. I hoped he'd make it, "Seto, he's still alive…"

Setonara blinked, "Right.  We need to move quickly then."

The humans would live in peace until they had need of us again, of that I was sure of.  Unfortunately vampires were more common than us fliers, so our fight was never really over.

 

Setonara had tore off some of the material and used it to give the human a little more dignity while I averted my eyes.  He didn't need me staring. The human was so light and frail I feared the worst. Yet as we had to head back to HQ it was then a dilemma presented itself.  There was no hospital that could care for the human- he needed intensive care right now and…

"One of us should probably carry him." Setonara said breaking my train of thought, "We'll need to get to the nearest town from here and contact the Masters.  Then we'll figure out what's next."

That son of a bitch!

"Is that...proper?" I asked and he nodded,

"Yeah.  Joy'll probably come out in the Dezuran Airship with the field medical unit so…"

 

Oh.

 

Oh.

 

Right, of course.  I forgot about that.

 

"My bad." I said waving a hand as Setonara chuckled with amusement at my sheepish expression.  "So now that's taken care of- who's going to carry him to the meeting point?"

 

~

 

We travelled to the nearest town, the human bundled up in as much blankets as we could find to keep him warm.  We managed to take a few short minutes to get to the next town and a couple of furred Kakurajack happened to be there along with the Airship with the tail end open as they came to out to meet us on the outskirts of the town since the humans would panic seeing it.

 

Their fur coats giving them an almost unfair advantage over the other more reptile like variants I was used to.  I didn't care and let Seto do the talking. He mentioned the human and the Kakurajack both gasped and hastened to get us into the meeting point,

"An alive human?!" One of them said surprised, "Great One preserve us!  He'll be in a sorry mental state-"

I sighed, "He knew what they were." I said quietly as my hand rested on his arm, listening to his thoughts, "He's managed to hold on this long but…"

There were nods of understanding as rapid movements shifted around me.  The Kakurajack moved rapidly and I glanced through the human's memories.  His name was Albert. I knew because I heard it. He was a smart man, a scientist by his very nature, he was lucky to be alive.  I looked down at his frail form. "Just a bit more, Albert." I said softly, "Hold on a bit more."

The door opened and the familiar form of Joy came in.  She nodded at me and pulled out her MEDIC reader. She frowned and said, "Gooooodness me that looks like quite serious.  You found him in this state sweetie?"

I nodded, "He was trapped by the vampires." I said and Joy hummed,

"He doesn't have any bite makes and he seems to be mostly fine from the physical perspective." She sighed then she turned to me, "Are you holding alright Yuganna?" She asked me, "That was a serious mission- and you of all individuals would be most affected of all, given your ability to hear thoughts."

I sighed, "Do we have to debrief now?"

Joy gently pat my head, "We don't but, I would like to make sure you're alright dear."

Oh I hope it wasn't too hard on her to have to deal with that...it's always difficult to know how best to help them…especially when they have to be exposed to such horrific things all the time on their missions.  Sweet Great One there has got to be something I can do to lighten their burden…

 

I smiled softly, "Thank you, Joy.  Just knowing you're looking out for us is comfort enough.  I should know since everyone seems to think I'm a bonafide mind reader just because I hear stuff some people miss or can't hear." I said as she nodded.

 

Ever since I was a child- er hatchling if one wanted to split hairs.

 

Split hairs properly.  I was born like most mammals, no egg involved except for the very beginning since fliers essentially were like humans complete with placenta and all of the joys of human reproduction, complete with vaginas and penises and pretty much the same stuff told in human sex ed classes- the penis goes into the vagina to deliver sperm.  I do not need to tell anyone that shit.  It was disturbing the first time and I hadn't even gone onto my first heat yet!

 

So as I was saying, ever since I was a hatchling, it was discovered that I- like Yami before me- had the ability to hear others thoughts.  My Yami needed physical contact to do it but I could hear them if I concentrated enough without physical contact, though it was a hell of a lot easier for me to do it with the physical touch in place because that saved the effort.

 

"Alright, then.  We'll debrief with Master Mahad in an hour." Joy replied, "I'll look after our human friend here.  Oh Yuganna-" I turned, "Don't forget to speak with your Yami, she was most anxious to know that you're alright."

I nodded, "Yeah after debrief I will." I said as the quiet sound of an engine starting up, "I guess I should probably head to the main area." as I said this I was aware of something that I had been missing, “I guess I should see Yami first...” I sighed it was hard being the youngest of the tribe sometimes, especially since our tribe was so small, consisting of Lady Namara, Gayame Atem, Yami and me.

 

Surprised?

 

Well...you could say that a flier's lifespan is...um...extremely extended compared to a human's.  My Gayame is at least over five thousand years old, as is Yami. Me...well..I'm...not even close to my first century as a comparison.  Yeah, that's right, I'm so young compared to the rest of my tribe. Not surprising since I've only just crossed my first decade by a couple of years, and now that I think about it, the other tribes are fairly small too.  It had to be a flier thing, it just had to be.

 

I however was aware of the fact that my Yami was likely waiting for me.

 

I headed to the main area and for once saw Rȃtȃn before he saw me, his tall lithe frame covered with scars that I was so familiar with having grown up with him at my Yami's side, he was her Soul-partner though not my sire- my sire was Anubis and like my sire, my Yame (I was supposed to refer to him as though I never truly did).  The god of the dead sired a little half breed Dragon. Yeap...I'm a bona fide demi goddess...at least I think so. I don't really care since it wasn't like my sire was around often enough to actually know me, “Rȃtȃn, what a pleasant surprise!”

“Ah, Yuganna.  Great One be praised.” He grinned and I could tell he was glad to see I was unharmed physically at least, “Thou be unharmed, verily thy Yami wast right.” He grinned, “Thou wast more than enough to taketh the mission well.”

I smiled softly,

“Yeah I guess I am.”

“Do nay doubeth thyself.” Yami said as she came to the main area, her long hair resting in a  loosely tied braid that was halfway down her back as her ice blue eyes regarded me with a warmth that I was well familiar with- seriously why couldn't Râtân be my Yame?  It'd be a hell of a lot nicer that's for sure, “Thou be capable beyond thine thoughts, child of mine.” She said embracing my relatively small frame to her, “Now the real test shalt begin.  Thou hast strength and thou wilt be well.” She said. She didn’t doubt my skill but clearly it was a relief as well. My family clearly knew what I was capable of at least...for now, she grinned, "Thou hast grown much, and thou wilt groweth more." She nuzzled my forehead and I giggled,

"We hope-"

Yami chuckled warmly, "We knoweth, Yuganna, we knoweth.  We nay hopeth. Thou hast proven thyself."

She gently ruffled my hair and I knew she probably was right.  I had grown from this mission...I think.

 

~

 

I arrived to the main hall of the airship and Mistress Isis was waiting for Setonara and I.  Lady Isis was a slimly built woman, her waist long black hair was in many tiny braids with beads on the ends.  She wore a simple band around the top of her head and a simple linen shift that was extremely light. She wore gold bands on her arms and wrists and gold plating around her neck, “Ah good, you’ve arrived.  Congratulations on your first successful mission, Yuganna, I take it that you and Setonara are ready for debrief.” She smiled kindly as she led the way to the large conference table in the middle of the room, “With that I believe that the Kakurajack are cleansing your armour, so we will be able to discuss the mission properly.”

I sighed, “So when do we get word of how-”

“I see that you both are well.” Master Mahad said calmly, “Forgive the interruption.” He said calmly, “We need a bit more information on the human that the two of you found…”

“You do?” We asked surprised.  I looked to Seto in surprise and he also seemed to be taken aback.

“Yes, we do.” He said with a pained sigh- as if he were hoping not to have to ask me specifically what he needed me to do.  I mean I guessed since I wasn't exactly focused on that, “Yuganna, it pains me to ask this of you, but did you pick up on anything about the man you found?”

“Umm…” I sighed.  Yet again my mind reading ability was going to be of use it seemed.  "Well, I know his name is Albert Wesker-"

There was a soft noise of disbelief, "Are you sure about-"

"It be as she sayeth." Râtân's melodic voice spoke up, "Pray forgive me for mine intrusion." He lowered his head, "I saweth a vision and couldest nay ignore its implication."

Master Mahad hummed, "I see.  Well then, if that is the case...then Joy will have to make him into a changeling for his own safety."

"A CHANGELING?!" I gasped, "You mean...like a flier?!"

Master Mahad nodded, "It's the only way.  From what Joy's report says, there is nothing that can be done to keep him human.  The vampires had-"

I let out a pained cry.  I did not need to hear the rest.  "Then who will care for him? As a changeling he'll need a tribe more than an orphan!"

Râtân spoke, "He wilt be a nestmate for thee.  It be for the best."

I sighed, "A brother…" I looked down into my hands, "I need to be there for him.  We need to be there for him!" I said firmly,

"And you both will." Master Mahad assured us both, "He won't take long to complete and for now, you'll both have to help him along.  We will continue our support. Until then I expect both of you to report to Joy, you will be given your next mission once you are ready."

"Sky above, ground below." I said right hand resting on my left shoulder and I bowed.  Master Mahad nodded.

"Winds carry you." He dismissed us both and I left to the medical unit.  I had a new brother...

 

FIN

And some explaining is needed, mostly minor stuff:

Spoiler

Fliers are essentially half human, half dragon and reach full physical maturity at about twelve years old, they reach mental maturity around that age as well, essentially developing a lot faster than humans.  They hold their physical appearance around a twenty-four year old human give or take a couple of years and are essentially immortal unless seriously wounded- it is possible to kill them but they're more likely to die by the hands of their own kind than anything we mere humans could do.  Fliers are also immune to nearly all diseases.  Though they can have allergies like humans, it's more likely in changelings than actual born fliers...

 

Edited April 24, 2019 by TheSilentChloey
Added some stuff.

[Dragoncat]

2 hours ago, TheSilentChloey said:

So a few people wanted more details XD here you all go:

Thoughts in spoilers.

Spoiler

Definitely less confusing this time. And definitely M rated. If this is a fully original universe you've done a lot for it already. Maybe I missed something, but if the vampire queen was just using Albert to breed, and was going to let him die and possibly eat what was left of him, why is turning him into a flier the only way to save him? These vampires don't appear to have the classic vampire thing where if they bite you, you become one. I expected if he was still alive, he'd just need to rest and recover from his ordeal and be returned to his home. But it's neat that he becomes a brother to the main character. I wouldn't mind a story where he adjusts to his new life and some interactions with the other fliers. With his memories intact or not, it'd be up to you.

The airplane thing was funny. Makes me wonder why the fliers are still using bladed weapons if tech has advanced that much, may be tradition, or maybe the vampires can't be harmed by bullets and the fliers have weapons specifically made for this purpose.

All in all this does sound like something I'd read if it were an actual novel. I like dragons and this is kind of similar to Rick Riordan's books, which I enjoy. This is Riordanverse with an M rating, looks like.

 

[Azure the Scale Tipper]

4 minutes ago, Dragoncat said:

Thoughts in spoilers.

  Hide contents

Definitely less confusing this time. And definitely M rated. If this is a fully original universe you've done a lot for it already. Maybe I missed something, but if the vampire queen was just using Albert to breed, and was going to let him die and possibly eat what was left of him, why is turning him into a flier the only way to save him? These vampires don't appear to have the classic vampire thing where if they bite you, you become one. I expected if he was still alive, he'd just need to rest and recover from his ordeal and be returned to his home. But it's neat that he becomes a brother to the main character. I wouldn't mind a story where he adjusts to his new life and some interactions with the other fliers. With his memories intact or not, it'd be up to you.

The airplane thing was funny. Makes me wonder why the fliers are still using bladed weapons if tech has advanced that much, may be tradition, or maybe the vampires can't be harmed by bullets and the fliers have weapons specifically made for this purpose.

All in all this does sound like something I'd read if it were an actual novel. I like dragons and this is kind of similar to Rick Riordan's books, which I enjoy. This is Riordanverse with an M rating, looks like.

 

My thoughts in spoilers:

Spoiler

I did not read the original, but yeah, I can echo these thoughts. Did not think of Rick Riordan, though, but that thought makes sense.

Maybe with some grammar checks, we can make this a novel or something.

 

[TheSilentChloey]

11 minutes ago, Dragoncat said:

Thoughts in spoilers.

  Hide contents

Definitely less confusing this time. And definitely M rated. If this is a fully original universe you've done a lot for it already. Maybe I missed something, but if the vampire queen was just using Albert to breed, and was going to let him die and possibly eat what was left of him, why is turning him into a flier the only way to save him? These vampires don't appear to have the classic vampire thing where if they bite you, you become one. I expected if he was still alive, he'd just need to rest and recover from his ordeal and be returned to his home. But it's neat that he becomes a brother to the main character. I wouldn't mind a story where he adjusts to his new life and some interactions with the other fliers. With his memories intact or not, it'd be up to you.

The airplane thing was funny. Makes me wonder why the fliers are still using bladed weapons if tech has advanced that much, may be tradition, or maybe the vampires can't be harmed by bullets and the fliers have weapons specifically made for this purpose.

All in all this does sound like something I'd read if it were an actual novel. I like dragons and this is kind of similar to Rick Riordan's books, which I enjoy. This is Riordanverse with an M rating, looks like.

 

Response here:

Spoiler

So I don't know if you noticed but Albert was pretty much turning into a vampire- I neglected to mention that those particular types of vampires carry a disease known as Vampirious Degeneratis  and when a human comes into contact with it...well you've got another vampire drone.

 

As for the Airship (think Marvel's Agents of Shield plane but a LOT bigger and more like a Star Wars spaceship), its certainly highly technical- the fliers don't have an aversion to technology, however they do tend to keep to tradition, mostly because if it ain't broke don't fix it, but because a Durillium sword will kill any and all vampires once tempered in flier's vemon and flames.

 

Yeap.  Yuganna can breathe fire XD

 

13 minutes ago, Azure in a Roundabout said:

My thoughts in spoilers:

  Hide contents

I did not read the original, but yeah, I can echo these thoughts. Did not think of Rick Riordan, though, but that thought makes sense.

Maybe with some grammar checks, we can make this a novel or something.

 

Spoiler

I'm not so sure.  It is semi-original so there are a combination of fanish elements- that really should be obvious- with original content.

Rafaela and Luciela are pulled from Claymore in their entirety which actually is one of the main inspirations behind this fic.

Mahad and Isis are definitely directly from Yu-Gi-Oh!  Atem is of course Yami Yugi with tweaks, Setonara is almost identical to Seto Kaiba in looks save for the scars he has and Setonara's kind of starting to develop his own personality to rival Kaiba's ego.  Of course Marik Ishtar is there in his almost full Yu-Gi-Oh! incarnation save a few tweaks again because somehow that just happened, though we don't see Marik in this fic yet.

Yamara, Yuganna, Râtân and everyone else are OCs whose bases come from a few different sources.  Yamara is like Yami Yugi but a female version that speaks in semi old English.  Râtân looks like Yami Marik but has a more softer personality- mostly.

Yuganna is a female version of Yugi who changed massively from being shy like him to her own...shall we say lovable Yuganna you're seeing here.

Whew, I hope the links help XD

[Interdimensional Observer]

I've written about 4400 words of something, the problem is this isn't quite what I intended. Only now I am getting to the part where I go beyond rehash and embellishment, and begin becoming much, much, more free with what I write and driving home the central point stated at the beginning of those many words.

I think then I'll have to dump my plans for doing a second story bound to the first by being criticisms of the opposite thing, albeit of a different event. Since that'd then exceed 10000 words easily. Unless I draw a micro out of the macro I am writing; something simpler, more dramatic, and more poignant which gets to the essence of my point.

[Ottservia]

So I have an idea but let's just say the idea I want explore is rather dark and sensitive. It's nothing explicit but I'mma be dancing on the edge of the moral boundary with this one

Edited April 25, 2019 by Ottservia

[Jotari]

27 minutes ago, Ottservia said:

So I have an idea but let's just say the idea I want explore is rather dark and sensitive. It's nothing explicit but I'mma be dancing on the edge of the moral boundary with this one

Won't hear any complaints from me. Go for it.

[Azure the Scale Tipper]

Finished the first draft yesterday. Going to transfer it to my iPad (hopefully today) and see if any edits are necessary.

Also gonna see how many words it is. Handwritten on lined paper, the work takes up roughly 6 pages. And I plan to put in a little extra before transferring the rest.

[TheSilentChloey]

Anyone available for a read over of my entry?

[Anacybele]

I found an idea for an entry! I was originally contemplating doing the Greil death scene in PoR from Black Knight/Zelgius's point of view, but I didn't feel like I could provide enough meat in it beyond what the game already presents in the scene. I later decided to do a different, much later PoR scene from another antagonist's point of view instead, and it's one antagonist that unfortunately got less love than the others. I was able to do more emotional and feelsy stuff with this one!

Title: Regrets of a General
Fandom: Fire Emblem (Path of Radiance)
Words: 3432

Spoiler

Regrets of a General

 

The plague of bloodshed was upon the vast entry courtyard to Castle Crimea. Weapons had begun to clash, the clanging echoing off the walls, while blood was streaked across the dirt, foliage, and stone. One side of the battle was comprised of many soldiers clad in ebony armor. They all wielded swords, axes, lances, bows, and magical tomes, some mounted upon horses while others soared the sky upon wyverns. The only exceptions were a few warriors that had been stationed near the gates. They were tall dragons standing upon two legs, their minds unfortunately warped beyond repair and forced to fight against their will. The army they fought against was valiantly comprised of many different types of soldiers. Some were like those from their opponents, but clad mainly in bright silvery armor. Others were able to transform into cats, birds, and even more dragons. Several nations of the continent of Tellius had come together to aid Crimea in its time of most need against the invading army of Daein.

 

One Daein general looked on from the main passage through the courtyard. He stood about halfway between the gates and the castle doors. The Crimean Liberation Army was closing in, and he had but little time to think. And yet, he had much to think about. Too much, he knew, to completely dwell on before it became his time to join the bloodshed. Part of Bryce didn't actually want to fight. He would have liked to bring peace without violence and return to his country. To return to the people he had to fight for. But that was just it: he had to fight. For those people, and for Daein. He was a general that had been serving his kingdom since the age of fifteen.

 

And even right before this battle had begun, Bryce learned some of the most horrific information he'd heard in a very long time. He had vowed to protect his king, Ashnard, since he was all that was left of the royal line. And yet, the very reason for that was Ashnard himself.

 

"The thing that killed my father was not a plague. It was me. Oh, but it doesn't end there. There was my stepmother, too. And every brother who stood to be a legitimate heir... All of them died by my hand."

 

The king's words still rang in Bryce's head. How this act sickened him inside, and yet for the sake of his country, he was compelled to fight. Somehow, the love for his country was overriding his moral side. And he couldn't stop it, no matter how hard he tried.

 

Yet, that wasn't even the worst of it. No, Ashnard had said one more devastating sentence just before Bryce had gone to take his station on the battlefield.

 

"By the way... Perhaps you should know something else. This makes no difference to my plans or yours anyway, I assume, seeing as you wish to protect me no matter what. I recently was told that your son perished in Nados Castle with the Black Knight. Heh heh, how unfortunate. Your boy could've really gone somewhere in my ideal world... But as it goes, only the strong survive. Heh..."

 

As soon as these words had left Ashnard's lips, Bryce found himself frozen where he stood as he had been about to go to his assigned post. His gaze just stared as his eyes grew glassy. He almost didn't realize when he did begin walking towards his post. And it was a miracle that no one seemed to notice a few tears trail down his cheeks as he'd made his way through the courtyard. His son, his only son, had not made it out of Nados Castle alive. And now it was like Bryce's entire world shattered to millions of tiny pieces.

 

"Jerec... My son..." he uttered in a near whisper, vainly holding back more tears. Not even the shapeshifting laguz's sharper hearing might have heard it.

 

Jerec was all Bryce had for the longest time, not counting his closest allies in the Daein army. General Gawain had been a noble friend, as had fellow General Tauroneo. However, Jerec was the one thing that kept Bryce going in the darkest of times. Particularly after the boy's mother had died giving birth to him.

 

"Susan... My love..."

 

Bryce tried to keep a grimace off of his face, but was unable to before a nearby soldier seemed to notice and ask if the general was okay.

 

"I-I am fine. Focus on the battle, not me," he ordered. The soldier obliged.

 

However, Bryce felt hypocritical saying this. He was not finding it easy to focus on the battle at hand himself. This battle that would decide the fate of Daein...and perhaps what would happen to Jerec's body. Would someone else learn of his death and search for the remains? Was it ever possible for him to get a proper burial? Bryce could not prevent remembering the last conversation he had with his son, which they had at Nados Castle during the journey through Crimea.

 

"Jerec. I am sorry, but I need you to remain here with the Black Knight. I will be going with His Majesty to Castle Crimea," Bryce had told the young man, who was still fairly ripe as a captain in the army.

 

"...What?! Dad, why? I'd rather fight in Melior alongside you than stay here with that coward hiding under a helmet! I'm not sure why Ashnard even trusts him, we don't know who he is!"

 

"Jerec..."

 

"In fact, why are we even fighting this war?" Jerec wondered. "Crimea is a pain in the ass, and the dirty sub-humans...I don't know what the hell is up with them, especially those crazy Feral Ones, but what could've possibly warranted a conflict of this magnitude? What does Ashnard really gain from it all? I just...I don't understand."

 

At this, Bryce looked down and closed his eyes for a moment before responding.

 

"He...has his beliefs and goals. Even if they are unusual...and perhaps insane. That is all I can say there. But if our country is to survive and not fall into a dark fate, we must fight. Even if we don't like the reason why. Your mother wanted us to protect our people and serve them to the best of our abilities. We are doing just that."

 

"But would she have wanted to follow Ashnard or wanted all this bloodshed? I can't imagine that."

 

Bryce had paused at this. He was not entirely sure how to answer. Susan would not have been proud of the war or Ashnard's ideals at all. And yet, Bryce could not lie to his own son.

 

"...No. I would think not. But even she would have also had no choice...His Majesty...would have made sure of it in some way. I am sorry."

 

"Dad..."

 

"...Jerec, fight for what you believe is right. Do not worry about Ashnard. I and your mother only wish for you to be the best man you can be. To help and protect the weak, as I have taught you. Even if it seems like...the fight you're forced into is a horrible one."

 

"...Well, you're right about that. I will not let you down, Dad."

 

"I am glad to hear it. The Crimean Liberation Army is not far away. Their general will surely come by here, as Sir Black Knight appears to be eagerly awaiting his arrival. I have heard this general is strong. Be prepared."

 

"Yes, Sir. As ordered."

 

Bryce began to walk away, but then came to a stop before he opened the door of the room the two were in. He did not turn to face Jerec, however.

 

"And Jerec...if something shall happen to me and I don't return to you..." he began, "I wish to name you a Daein Rider in my place. You do not have to accept the title right away, but in time, my son, you will have earned it. I am certain."

 

"But... Dad..."

 

"Farewell."

 

Bryce had departed after that, and never saw Jerec again. Who would have guessed that that "Farewell" was going to mean so much more in the end?

 

And yet, Jerec was not all Bryce had to think about. There was more plaguing his mind, more than even Jerec himself had known. And one of the things that ate at Bryce most was the fact that he never told these things to his own son. It hurt him like a blade to the gut to have had to keep any secrets from Jerec. Susan's death had always weighed heavily upon him. So heavy, that he might have one day taken his own life if not for the fact that his son needed him. ...And later, his daughter.

 

"Oh, Jerec... Please, forgive me... Rosemary...Susan...I am so sorry..."

 

Jerec had not known that he had a half-sister, and now, he would never get to meet her. He would never know a real family or more love than whatever a father that periodically drank his sorrows away could offer, if any of it was real enough.

 

"I only wanted to protect all of you..." Bryce uttered some more.

 

He didn't seem to be able to protect anyone now. He could not save the frail and sickly Susan from her illnesses, even with the help of her younger sister, a former priestess of Palmeni Temple. He couldn't protect his own son. He had to do what he could to provide for Rosemary and her mother, Amanda, in secret, lest Ashnard find out and possibly endanger them, and while they were safe, it was still a struggle. He felt as if he had betrayed his love for Susan by bedding another woman, especially when it happened after he had gone too far with his alcohol. And now, Bryce wasn't sure how he expected to protect Ashnard or Daein either.

 

But he had to try. It was all he could do. It was all he had to live for. Otherwise, why not plunge his Wishblade lance into his own gut right now? At least...he would see his wife and son again. But he served Daein, and he had Rosemary and Amanda to think of. The least Bryce could do for Susan and Jerec was to protect who remained of his loved ones as well as his country.

 

"Father... Please, don't go! You don't have to fight! You can stay here, right? Ashnard doesn't have to know!" young Rosemary had begged before the Daein army began the march to Crimea while leaving other soldiers to defend Nevassa.

 

"I'm sorry, my dear... But with my rank and strength, I am needed to ensure that we...that you and your mother, have a future," Bryce replied.

 

"But... I'll really miss you... You're away so much already..."

 

"I know... I really am sorry... But I promise you, you will be taken care of. Nothing shall happen to either of you."

 

"Okay..."

 

It didn't seem long at all before Bryce sensed a familiar presence nearby and was snapped out of his trance. He soon spied one of his old friends, General Tauroneo himself. Bryce recognized the man's bright silvery white armor anywhere since it was an unusual sight among Daein soldiers. ...And yet, Tauroneo wasn't fighting anyone from the Crimean army. He was fighting his own countrymen. Bryce's gaze strayed to the path below him as he closed his eyes for a moment. Oh, my old friend. I never expected that we would meet like this.

 

Tauroneo had finished cutting down a Crimean swordsman when he noticed Bryce as well, and spoke up.

 

"Bryce," he said. "How unfortunate we should cross paths this way."

 

"Ah, Tauroneo... I see that you have found another path to follow. Perhaps you were inspired by my old friend Gawain," Bryce replied.

 

"Tell me, Bryce. Beyond mountains of corpses, what do you see Ashnard bringing to the future of this place?" Tauroneo inquired, clearly in no mood for idle chit-chat.

 

"...I see nothing, save for a land of absolute darkness and terror."

 

Tauroneo seemed to sense that Bryce meant those words in more ways than one.

 

"Then why fight by his side?" he wondered.

 

"Some men can change, Tauroneo," Bryce answered rather abruptly. "Others cannot... I am of the latter type. There is no other reason."

 

"I see... May your soul find peace."

 

Bryce thought Tauroneo was about to raise his weapon against him, even though he could not blame him at all if he did. A moment later, however, a younger man sporting unkempt blue hair and storm blue eyes approached, a long green headband cascading from the back of his head. He was wielding a large, golden blade Bryce had previously known the Black Knight to be in possession of. How this man had gotten his hands on it, Bryce was not sure. He could only assume he had taken it at Nados Castle. This young man, however, who looked no more than eighteen years of age, clearly had to be the opposing general. He had the look and stance of one, without a doubt, surprising for one so young.

 

The young man spoke softly to Tauroneo for a few moments. Bryce couldn't make out what they were saying, but he could sense that the man was asking him of another task on the battlefield, as Tauroneo nodded to his new superior and walked off after that. The young man then turned to face Bryce, though he did not yet raise his sword.

 

"You're a commander, but you do not look like you truly wish to fight this battle," the general said. "I can allow you to surrender now before you end up throwing your life away."

 

"Thank you, but my answer is no. I will fight for Daein until my last breath," Bryce declined. "It is my duty and my only choice."

 

"...Very well then. I guess any further attempt to convince you will do nothing."

 

"Indeed. So you're the enemy general, eh?" Bryce continued. "You're much younger than I had imagined."

 

"My age matters not," the young general replied. "The palace will be ours this day."

 

"We will not relinquish it so easily," Bryce warned. "But allow me to introduce myself as befits a warrior. I am Bryce of Daein."

 

"And I am Ike of the Greil Mercenaries," the general added. "Now... Let us begin!"

 

With that, Bryce brandished his Wishblade and Ike raised his spectacular sword. The young man's stance was somehow...familiar. However, Bryce had no time to ponder it and clashed with the man's blade as quickly as he could despite his heavy armor. He knew he had a slight advantage. Lances typically had the edge over swords in one on one combat. He was unsure why Ike would come at him with a sword when he surely had capable axe wielding soldiers who could have taken him on instead. Perhaps this Ike thought he stood the best chance. Or perhaps when he'd seen Tauroneo conversing with Bryce, he decided to avoid having the old Daein general be forced to face off against someone he had called friend.

 

Whatever the case was, Bryce had to take as much advantage of it as he could. The Wishblade outreached even the length of Ike's massive sword, and finding openings was not difficult. However, as Bryce expected, Ike proved to be far from a pushover. He easily side-stepped most blows, with the only hits he was taking being scrapes and bumps from the Wishblade occasionally barely scratching him. At one point, Ike leaped backward and then jumped forward into the air. He came down with a swing so hard that Bryce ended up a hair away from being placed on the ground upon his back.

 

He managed to keep his footing, however, and repeatedly block as many of the young man's sword strikes as he could. Yet, Ike was not only strong, he was also fast. He far out-sped the slow, heavily armored Bryce, and so the Daein general needed to stand his ground as best he could. And occasionally, while Ike still took a few gashes and bruises from Bryce's own blows, Bryce himself was met with chips in his armor and a gash or two in the few areas that were left uncovered by his suit.

 

This boy's entire style...why is it so familiar? Bryce asked himself as he shielded yet another blow. He had a theory, but could not know for certain if it was true. And anyway, he had a battle to finish.

 

Unfortunately, Bryce may have been distracted long enough by his pondering for one more strong blow from Ike to force him to stumble a little. Before the Daein general could regain his balance, the young man side stepped behind him and tossed his great blade into the air. He leaped up to grab it and came down with a long slice to Bryce's back side, creating the biggest gash in his armor and skin that anyone could have ever seen. And that wasn't the end of it. Ike then went into a backward flip to go into a second upward strike which made the gash even wider and slightly deeper.

 

"AAAAAUUGH!" Bryce bellowed almost loud enough for the entire courtyard to hear. Yet, neither of these blows were fatal despite having weakened him. He could still go on. He had to, for the sake of his remaining loved ones. For the sake of his wife and son.

 

Bryce whirled around despite the pain to raise the Wishblade once more to Ike. He tried to strike, only to then find the gold of the young general's blade at the lower left of his torso...and protruding out of the other side.

 

The Daein general's mouth gaped and his eyes bulged as Ike then yanked his sword out of his flesh a moment later. The Wishblade fell out of Bryce's trembling hand as he fell to his knees, grasping his severely bleeding wound. This was the end for him. The wound was bleeding out too fast for a healer to reach him in time. He had lost...even though he gave all he could for his loved ones. ...And yet ironically, he it also felt as if his long time pain was finally beginning to heal. He weakly raised his gaze to Ike again, the young general seemingly not too fazed by his own injuries. ...Though that might have been because strangely, it looked as if some of them had...healed. There were not many sword techniques capable of such a feat.

 

"Your name was Bryce, was it not?" Ike recalled. "You fought...a good fight."

 

"As...did you...Ike," Bryce uttered between heavy pained breaths. "I...commend you... Your style of fencing...is unique... Who was your teacher?"

 

"My father. Greil."

 

"I thought...I recognized that style. You truly are Gawain's... I see it...now... The resemblance...is strong..."

 

"Farewell, knight," was all Ike said in response as Bryce became too weak to stay upright any longer. He collapsed to the ground in front of him.

 

Yet, before Bryce exhaled his final breath, a whisper too soft for even Ike to hear left his lips.

 

"Forgive me... everyone..."

 

In the next moment, Bryce's corpse was still and lifeless. Before Ike would continue further towards Ashnard, whom waited at the top of the stairs that led to the castle doors, he took a moment to ponder as he looked at the body lying before him. The nearby Daein soldiers either had become frozen with fear and shock that their general had fallen, or were preoccupied with Ike's allies.

 

"It's unfortunate that an honorable man such as yourself had to fight for a tyrant like Ashnard," Ike said. "I will ask Tauroneo if you can be given a proper burial in Daein."

 

With that, the young man turned around to place his focus upon the remainder of his enemies.

 

By this point, Bryce had already begun to feel his spirit move to the afterlife. A strange feeling of peace further began to envelop him, and somehow, he saw and heard what Ike had just said. And yet, what appeared to be the glowing form of Susan also shimmered into existence before him.

 

In the next moment, Ike could swear he felt a sudden, but momentary light breeze through his unruly hair and cape. It vanished just as quickly as it had come. He merely brushed it off as nothing but the heat of battle possibly beginning to get to him a little. The spirit of General Bryce, however, knew it was something more.

 

"Thank you... My nephew..."

 

Spoiler

A few points to note:

- I did take some dialogue from within the game. I kinda had no choice there. But I also added some new bits!

- If you didn't already guess, yes, I decided to make Bryce Ike's uncle by marriage. Susan's sister is Elena.

- If you also didn't already pick this up, the fact that only Susan appeared before Bryce as his spirit departed and Jerec did not implies that Jerec is actually alive. However, whether or not Ashnard really thought he was dead or was just lying to be a prick to Bryce is up to your imagination. :P

- Bryce having served the Daein royalty since he was 15 is probably the only bit of backstory here that's actually canon. He mentions this to Ashnard just before the Endgame battle starts.

 

Edited April 28, 2019 by Anacybele