#selene frigidwake

[aquadestinyswriting]

Fantasy Picrew Tag Game

I was tagged for this by @blind-the-winds. Thank you for the tag, this one was a lot of fun

Rules: use this picrew to make yourself as a fantasy character, then make some of your OCs into fantasy characters or use ones from a fantasy story! Tag whoever you want to play next

tagging: @druidx, @sparrow-orion-writes @ashirisu, @philosophika, @the-down-upside-finch

Have fantasy me on the left and a modern AU Selene on the right. Yes, yes, I know, we look pretty similar. This is generally what happens when you create your first D&D character ever :P. I tried to make a Vera as well, but since there are no beard options for this picrew I couldn't make one that looked nice enough. And yes, even modern AU Sel will have that perpetually worried expression on her face.

#writeblr tag games #picrew tag games #selene frigidwake

[druidx]

Her Countenance was Light - Chapter 8

CW: None AO3 ; Chapters: 01. 02. 03. 04. 05. 06. 07. Tag list (ask for +/-): @aquadestinyswriting, @hannahcbrown, @jacqueswriteblrlibrary, @babyblueetbaemonster

There was a time, early in Elo's career, when she was in and out of City Hall like she worked there, and not in the smallest and most underfunded police precinct in Toreguard. Since her quasi-retirement, she's been back less and less. Elo tucks her bike into the overground visitors' car park. As she crosses to the Hall's entrance, she casts her eyes aloft at the classic architecture of the building, rendered in shimmering marble. The grand edifice that is City Hall has always amazed her, but today, having not been back in some time, it feels like she's seeing it with new eyes.

She trots up the fan of steps and is processed quickly through the security checkpoint. On the wall of the foyer hang portraits of the heroes who rebuilt the city after its fall. Elo finds her feet dragging as she walks to the elevator. She gives in and stops to regard them. At the end is Egrim Shiverstaff, the Gods' own medic, in decorated vestments which only see the light of day on high and holy days. Next to him is Gary 'Grizz' Wald, the mountain man – so-called for his thick mane of dark hair. Along again is Fai Lumidas, the scholar, in his heavy robes and mortarboard. On the next row is Ivan 'the Hammer' Jägersson, broad-shouldered and unmovable. Finally, there are her Aunts – Selene Frigidwake and Alexis Dalliance. Selene, with her golden-red halo of hair, staring brusquely over a pair of half-moon glasses. Alexis, with her lips quirked, trying to suppress the smile already showing in laughter-lines carved into her weathered face. A pang of longing shoots through Elo as she stares at their well-loved faces. Aunt Alexis has been gone for nearly five years, vanished without word or trace, and Aunt Sel is on sabbatical in Europe for an indefinite amount of time. Elo's hand rises, plaintive, towards them, curling away at the last second so as not to set off the alarms. Her hand falls back, though her heart still aches; their absences seem all the more acute for the current situation. Elo blinks, finds herself scrubbing away liquid that has accumulated from staring too long and hurries towards the elevators. She makes a mental note to call her Mother soon. Elo was called away during last month's family dinner, and it would be nice, she thinks, to hear a friendly, matriarchal voice.

The offices of General, Magister and Exchequer on the seventy-second floor, below the Chambers proper. A spike of adrenaline hits – as it always does – as the elevator doors open, and Elo steps out to be confronted with the grand, carved door of the Triumvirate council. Elo nods to the two guards stationed either side of the corridor, letting them see her face. There is the minutest posture change; they know who she is and that she has permission to be here. But before she can let herself in, Elo is struck with a fit of nostalgia. She has to lean down to find the little mouse and hedgehog, their heads darker and shinier than the rest of the door, so she can give them a pat each – one from her and one from Evie. If the guards think it strange, they keep it to themselves, and Elo lets herself into the horseshoe arrangement that is the Triumvirate's offices.

Secretary General Evans is waiting for Elo in the ante-anteroom and rises to meet her. Elo absently clocks the height, weight, body mass of the woman as they shake hands. Evans is easily six foot and still built like an Amazonian warrior despite the hints of white creeping into her temples. Her eyes are pinched with worry, yet her grip remains gentle and warm. "Ma'am," Elo says. "I'm very glad you're here, O'Toreguarde," Evans says. "I'm not sure how he'll take the news. Either way, he'll need someone like you at his side." Evans has been General Strucker's secretary for many years, enough that she and Elo have a passing acquaintance. She must be greatly troubled, Elo thinks; she has never heard Evans speak so candidly before. "I'll do my best," Elo replies, mindful of Fugit's warning. The flicker of a smile graces Evans' face. "That's all we've ever asked of you." "Where-?" "The General is still debriefing and will be for the next hour or so. In the meantime, Magister Clayrmantle has instructed that you're to join him and his… guest." "Guest?" Evans gives a faint smile and apologetic shake of the head. "If you'd like to follow me?" "It hasn't been so long I've forgotten the way." "Apologies. Of course," Evans says and continues to lead the way to the Magister's office.

Evans gives a genial nod to Clayrmantle's secretary and shows Elo into the Magister's formal office. Elo hasn't been back since Aunt Selene left. She's gratified to see that the Acting Magister hasn't changed much of its decor – the wide bookshelves filled with esoteric tomes, the swirling abstract art and three-dimensional molecular compounds. Her aunt will be away for an undefined amount of time; she finds she's grateful he hasn't taken advantage of the situation as some might.

Elo scans the room. The security detail in ubiquitous black suits against the walls barely register. Acting Magister Thazar Clayrmantle – a tall, thin man in a pinstripe suit – is perched against the heavy desk which sits at the back of the room, below the seal of the City and its motto, 'semper clarior, semper audacior'. The seal also graces the wide, circular rug at the center of the room, around which curves two large, powder-blue sofas. Seated in them, she can see the side profile of two people and a third with their back to the door. The District Attorney, a man with skin like copper beech leaves and an imposing stature, is reading some report. The Master of the Exchequer, with his thinning pate and simpering expression, is seated opposite the DA. There is not much to be seen of the third – they sit low on the sofa, short of stature or perhaps slouching, with a long length of luscious black hair held in intricate braids which could belong to either gender. Elo decides now is the time to introduce herself to the company.

#oc elowyn o'toreguarde #npc thazar clayrmantle #oc lerrald brauma #writing #HCWL Chapters only #WIP 'Her Countenance was Light' #titan fighting fantasy #fighting fantasy #ttrpg fanfiction #wandering words #oc secretary evans

[aquadestinyswriting]

When Forever Comes Songfic

Summary:  You know what? Since I've been giving some thought to the way the early parts of the Selene/Edwin relationship is going to unfold, I might as well post the songfic I did for this song on my playlist for The Wizard's Tale. I haven't written a songfic for nearly 14 years, so this doesn't live up to my usual standards. However, I am way past caring now. Green text is for the parts Edwin is "singing", purple is Selene. I've also modified the lyrics a little to make the song for this fic make sense.

Words: 1,189

Warnings: some spoilers for To Heal a Broken Soul and Confessions of a Troubled Heart. There's nothing graphic in here, just fluff and a little angst.

tags: @druidx, @sparrow-orion-writes, @warriorbookworm, @mariahwritesstuff, @writeblrsupport, @ashirisu, @thesorcerersapprentice, @blind-the-winds, @philosophika, @the-down-upside-finch

The flowers gold Will softly sway To reunite the lost And lead us on our way

Edwin frowned as he tried to figure out what on Titan Selene meant by Daffodil Field, at least until Chrackle started squawking ‘Yastie’ at him over and over. Thanking the bird, the cleric cast his Scry and waited for his old friend to pick up on the other end.

The glow of soul Will light my face The river's current Flows inside each act of grace

The light of the Cure spell lit up the cleric’s face as he cast. He smiled as the gash on the little boy’s leg healed over. Selene waited in the doorway until he was done, the young boy hugging the new Abouna gratefully before dashing off with a happy wave.

Walk the garden breathe the scent of life Take this moment just to feel Comfort in my tiny paradise A place for lonely hearts to heal

Edwin had just finished tending to the back half of the Garden of Galana and was walking around to the front to work on the rosebushes by the front doors, when he noticed a shock of auburn hair out of the corner of his eye. Startled, the cleric looked over to the oak tree in the corner only to find the Grand Magus sat underneath it, her nose stuck in a book of some kind and totally oblivious to the world around her.

And when forever comes to be Will you remain inside? A little light of empathy To keep us unified Let me inside

“I know you’ve never been one to talk about personal matters with other people, Sel.” he said, “But this is getting completely out of hand.” The wizard shook her head,

“I can’t… not right now anyway.” she replied, her voice tight, “Look, just drop it. Please.” Edwin noticed the tension in his old friend and relented. Heaving a sigh he rubbed at his forehead,

“Alright, fine.” he agreed with a grumble, “But you need to talk to me sooner rather than later. You can’t keep carrying the weight of… whatever this is by yourself.”

The warmest smile A waiting hand A friend to free my heart And help me understand

Selene glared up at the laughing man above her. Edwin shook his head, a warm smile on his face as he extended his hand and helped the wizard up,

“Sorry, but...your face.” he giggled. Selene’s glare lifted as she too started laughing as she stood,

“Yeah, well don’t expect me to save your sorry behind if you end up in the same situation, mister cleric.” she retorted.

Through life and loss Through thick and thin You help all others Face the pain they hold within

“How do you even do it?” Edwin looked up, a confused frown on his face as he looked up at Selene,

“Do what?” he asked. Selene gestured to the door where the grieving family had left a little earlier. Edwin shrugged,

“To be honest, I never really thought about it.” he admitted, “It’s just something I’ve always done.”

Eyes of greed are ever watching me Lonely rooms and broken time Plots and plans to pluck the petals free To drain them of their golden shine

~I can’t get him involved in this Chrackle. It’s bad enough Schreiber has it in for me, I don’t want him getting rid of the only other one of us left!~

~You honestly think Schreiber doesn’t know he was with you guys? His statue is in the plaza outside along with yours.~

~That’s not the point. Edwin isn’t on the Council so Reginald has no real reason to feel threatened by him.~

~You really think that once he gets word that the new Abouna is another Hero of Toreguard that he’s really just going to leave the man alone just because he’s not on the Council? Schreiber wants you all gone, or did you forget that little detail?~

And when forever comes to be I will remain inside A little light of empathy To keep us unified I’ll Keep you outside

“What happened?” he asked, keeping his voice low and body language as relaxed as he could manage. For several long moments there was no reply, or even any indication that the woman had heard him. Eventually, however, the wizard shifted a little, and buried her head in the crook of her arms,

“I don’t want to talk about it.” she muttered, her voice muffled.

When I learn of the loss that defines me Can I hold to the promise that binds me And carry on into tomorrow's sorrow

“No, damn you! You can’t do this to me, not now!” he cried, falling to his knees and burying his face into the bedding as Selene’s body finally relaxed, rattled out a sigh and stilled. Edwin squeezed the rapidly cooling hand he still held tightly, ignoring the sharp pain in his palms, “I love you.”

When I'm facing the ghosts of my destiny Will I turn or remain in the memory And choose to stray or choose to follow

“Alright then, let me rephrase.” she said, “You said that I was still needed but that heading back or not was my choice. What then, is the point if either one of us ends up dead for good shortly after?” she asked. Greg looked up at her through his highlighted fringe with a soft smile,

“Then you make the most of the time you have.” he replied easily.

And when forever comes to be Will you remain inside A little light of empathy To keep us unified

Edwin frowned, worried, as the pink tinge in Selene’s face darkened somewhat and spread to her ears,

“Selene are you..?” he was quickly cut off by Selene waving her free hand,

“Nono, I’m fine.” she assured him, “It’s just… she trailed off, flailing a little as she tried to find the right words, “Cur ita velim Durus.” she hissed in Draconic. Edwin’s frown deepened, having no clue what it was the Wizard in front of him had just said. He took both of Selene’s hands in his own,

“Ok, breathe. What’s the matter?”

I’ll let you inside

“I heard you, you know.” she said quietly. Edwin’s head snapped back round, his heart skipping wildly in disbelief.

“You… wha..?” he stammered. Selene squeezed his shoulder to stop him from babbling, took a shaky breath and continued, “That’s why I came back. I didn’t want to leave this world before I got a chance to tell you that… I love you too.” she finally admitted…

#aquadestinyswriting #titan fighting fantasy #the wizard's tale #selene frigidwake #edwin goodwin #edwin/selene #songfic

[aquadestinyswriting]

The Origins of Selene's Name

Ok, so here's something completely different. This isn't necessarily a worldbuilding post or a specific story, so much as it is an explanation as to where Selene got her name. Thanks absolutely must go to @druidx for helping me with the folk tale at the end of this little explanation.

Tags: @druidx, @sparrow-orion-writes, @ashirisu, @blind-the-winds, @philosophika, @the-down-upside-finch

OK, so, I wrote about Selene's birth family a long while back and realised that Sel's name does not fit the naming conventions of the rest of her family. Of course I came up with Selene years before this part of her backstory, but I wanted to explore a more in-universe explanation.

Selene was born in the equivalent of early January, on the night of a full moon on a crisp and clear night. Her mother, Rosalie, recalled a word her grandmother had used to refer to the kind of moon present in the sky that night, and decided it would make for a suitable name for her newly born daughter should she survive the 4-5 months until her Name Day.

Selene, when she was a little girl, did ask her mother where the name came from, and Rosalie explained that her grandmother had said the name at one point and made mention of an old fairy-tale passed down through the generations that had been mostly forgotten. While the full story was no longer remembered, parts of it were, and Selene was told it was to do with the moon, mid-winter and this name. Skip forward a few more years, and Selene is talking with Yastromo after her arrival at his tower near the Darkwood. Yastromo notes how unusual Selene's name is in comparison to the rest of her family, and Selene tells him what her mother had told her. Yastromo, as much older and very learned man, realised that the fairy-tale passed down through Selene's family, was the same as an old folk tale from a tribe of nomads that had once lived in the area that the little town of Toreguarde now occupied. While the old wizard could not be certain that Selene's family had any connection to this nomadic tribe, he did decide to regale Selene with the full tale, which has been transcribed for your pleasure below:

A long time ago there was a fair young girl with skin as white as freshly fallen snow and hair as silver as the stars. She lived a simple life with her mother and father in a little house on the edge of the forest. One harsh winter night, the girl's mother got sick and the wise man of the nearby camp told her father that the only thing that would cure her was the heart of a pure white rabbit. The girl's father asked the girl if she would go out and look for this rabbit so he could cut out its heart to cure her mother. So, off the girl goes into the woods in search of a pure white rabbit. The girl spends a whole day searching the woods, but does not find a pure white rabbit. When the sun sank below the ground to go to sleep, the girl started to get very tired and hungry and curled up underneath a tree to rest. When she awoke, the night was lit by the soft, silver light of a full moon, and sitting at her feet, cleaning it's little pink nose, was a rabbit with fur of purest white. The girl slowly brought out her knife from her boot, knowing that the only way to save her mother was to kill the creature. But a pang of pity stayed her hand at the last moment. The rabbit looked up, twitched it's nose at her. The girl started to cry, for she loved her mother and did not wish her to die. But neither did she want to kill an animal so innocent and pure. The rabbit sat up and smiled at her, "Little girl, why do you cry so?" it asked. The girl explained her predicament, that she needed the heart of the rabbit to save her ailing mother, but that she did not want the rabbit to die either. The rabbit cocked its head to one side and looked up at the moon. So full and bright was it that it reflected perfectly in the rabbit's eyes. "You are a good and gentle child. If you promise to return home and never again return to this forest, then I shall speak with Selune to see that your mother's life is spared." it said. The girl looked at the rabbit in confusion, "Selune?" she asked. The rabbit nodded, it's ears flopping. "Yes, my mother. She lives upon the moon, you see, and watches all of Titan's children through the night." the rabbit explained. The girl thought for a moment, then nodded, "I promise never to return to your forest and disturb your rest, so long as my mother survives this sickness." she agreed. The rabbit thumped its foot upon the biggest root of the tree, then turned tail and hopped away. When the girl returned home without the rabbit, her father was furious. He took off his belt to beat her, but was stopped when his wife came through the door and asked why he was shouting so. While she was still tired and pale, the mother was in no danger of passing that night. The girl hugged her mother, then ran to the window and smiled up at the moon that gleamed in the night sky. She then told her mother and father of the promises she and the white rabbit had exchanged, and never again did the girl or her family ever return to the forest.

When Selene heard the tale, it resonated with her so much that, once she turned 16 years old, she officially began using the surname Frigidwake rather than the one she had been given by her birth family. The idea of promises kept also resonated, hard, and Selene has a personal oath to never break a promise she's made if she can help it at all. It also means that she can take sincere promises made by others extremely seriously, especially if they're made by friends or those she considers family.

#aquadestinyswriting #titan fighting fantasy #selene frigidwake #tales of the librarian #folk tale #writing meta

[aquadestinyswriting]

@druidx and @blind-the-winds, I hope you're both happy with yourselves. Our little discussion about Selene's role in the found family that rebuilt Toreguarde made this little section of chapter 2 of To Heal A Broken Soul even more heart-breaking than it already was (under a cut to save everyones' dashes):

Selene watched Edwin deflate in front of her. While her own temper had guttered out, the old wound of discovering that Alexis had left without saying anything to her, stung anew, ripped open by the letter she’d just received from Ivan. Finding out now that Edwin knew what had happened, and didn’t say anything either, was simply adding salt to it. It had become increasingly clear that no one truly trusted her, not even those she had considered her closest friends, Edwin now included. Oh, sure, Edwin had told her why, but that was simply an excuse to hide the truth. The wizard huffed out a sigh and stood up, too dejected to notice the sting in her arms at the movement, “Well, thank you for finally telling me the truth, Father Goodwin.” she stated flatly, “If you don’t mind, I need to have some time to myself.” 

Here's what I told Dru:

Sel was kind of estranged from her biological family and then Yastromo, Greydown and Chrackle were the only family she had for a long time after that. Then the adventure happens, she gets close to everyone that's left, half of those that lived leave for one reason or another, and the last few she now has too little time to spend with.

By the time The Wizard's Tale starts, I'm not sure Selene even knows what a family is supposed to be any more. All she knows is that she feels like she's fighting a losing battle to maintain those relationships she cares so much about, so she can't decide whether to retreat further into her work or try to cling to what little is left. It certainly explains her mercurial moods with regards to her relationship with Elowyn.

As far as her fellow wizards, Selene can't bring herself to get too close to them. She's their boss and needs to maintain a certain distance to ensure a professional relationship with them. This is fine as far as Thazaar and Thaddeus are concerned, it's a lot more difficult with Dwena. Despite all her best efforts, Selene can't help but trust the gnome and is closer to her than the other two members of her little Council. Even then, she refuses to consider Dwena as a part of her family until two thirds of the way through the Destiny's New Servants campaign, because she's so afraid that Dwena will end up leaving or dying on her and Selene knows she wouldn't be able to stand that.

By the time we get to the above conversation with Edwin, Selene honestly feels like he's the last member of that original adventuring family that she can truly rely on and trust. Now Edwin's gone and shattered even that. Is it any wonder, then, that she walks away and doesn't want to hear anything he has to say after that?

I know for a fact that Sel did not take Alexis' disappearance well at all at the time, and probably decided that it was for the best to never mention Alexis unless someone else broached the topic first, simply because talking about it hurt too much (It also makes for a handy excuse as to why Selene never mentioned or asked anyone about her when she visited Fangthane to ask about the God Clay).

Now I'm feeling compelled to write a story of Selene's perspective of family, though what point in the timeline that will be set, I'm not entirely sure...

#writing meta #titan fighting fantasy #selene frigidwake #aqua rambles #I love you guys #really I do #but I'm going to utterly break your hearts for making me realise this

[aquadestinyswriting]

Titan Modern AU- Chapter One

Summary: Meredith gets to meet with one of the people in charge of her new post. A quick conversation about Fangthane culture is had before the discussion turns to other matters- namely where Constable Gruksdottir is going to be staying.

Words: 1,161

Tags: @druidx, @sparrow-orion-writes @warriorbookworm, @thesorcerersapprentice, @blind-the-winds, @philosophika, @the-down-upside-finch, @hippiewrites

Warnings: Some talk about fictional religions but otherwise only avoid if the idea of women with beards grosses you out.

Notes: I fully admit, I just wanted a justification for Merri to keep her beard because I literally cannot see her without one. It allowed me to do some worldbuilding though, which is always fun.

Meredith stood at firm attention with her arms behind her back. The only indication of what she was feeling being a slight quirk of an eyebrow when she caught the surprised stare of the Diplomatic Envoy she was being introduced to out of the corner of her eye. 

Lieutenant Starhammer coughed politely, sitting down behind his desk and waving at his new constable,

“At ease, Gruksdottir. This is meant to be an informal chat. A chance fer us all to get to know each other.” he said. He beamed at the tall, slim woman, who was now settling down into the couch next to the fireplace, “Lady Frigidwake here is the Diplomatic Envoy to the Kingdom of Fangthane. She’s not quite the one in charge, but she does do a lot of work to keep things ticking along as smoothly as possible.” he explained. The Envoy laughed and smiled at both Fangthanians as Meredith relaxed her stance,

“Well, I try to.” she quipped. She gestured to the magpie sitting quietly on her shoulder, “This is Chrackle, he’s a companion of mine. I must ask that you try not to pay him too much attention as he’s supposed to be a working animal.” Meredith nodded, noting with amusement the slightly offended-sounding croak the bird made,

“I’ll bear that in mind, Ma’am.” she said. “I realise that you are, of course, versed in a great deal of Fangthanian culture, but I couldn’t help but notice your surprise as you walked in, Ma’am.” she noted. The other woman flushed a little in embarrassment,

“Ah, yes. I do apologise, that was insensitive. I’m afraid to say that I haven’t had much experience with the Throffite community. Very few Fangthanian women grow their beards out these days, so when I was informed that Lieutenant Starhammer was expecting a female constable, I made an assumption. Again, I apologise.” she said. Meredith shook her head, finally,

“No offence has been taken, Ma’am.” she stated, “You are quite correct, the majority of Fangthanian women shave, and I am very much an exception. Believe me, I am quite used to awkward stares and questions.” Lady Frigidwake pursed her lips and toyed with the end of a strand of greying auburn hair,

“That still does not excuse my conduct.” she retorted, “However, lessons have been learned and I shall not dwell on it any further.” she added, tickling her magpie under his beak as he nibbled at her ear. 

Starhammer chuckled and leaned back in his seat, which creaked loudly, 

“Well, now that we’re all acquainted, I think we can finally turn to business.” he said. He looked to Meredith first,

“I understand ye didn’t get a chance to work out someplace to stay while you’re here, given how quickly ye were kicked out the capital. I’d offer to put you up myself, but my youngest has had to move back home and has brought the weans, so there’s no room, I’m afraid.” 

Meredith shook her head,

“You don’t need to go to that kind of trouble, sir.” she protested, “I’ll be happy enough to keep staying at the Crabbit Sow until I can find somewhere more permanent.” 

Starhammer snorted,

“I’m no’ having ye waste all yer savings like that, lass.” he retorted. The Lieutenant turned to Lady Frigidwake,”D’ye ken of anyplace that’ll be willing to put her up?” he asked. The envoy tapped a finger on her chin thoughtfully,

“I’d need to make a couple of calls, but yes, I think I might know some people.” she replied. She pushed her glasses back up her nose as she smiled at Meredith, “I’ll have somewhere for you to stay by the end of the day.” she chirped. This time it was Meredith’s turn to flush,

“Ye really don’t need to go to so much trouble –” Starhammer scoffed,

“Lassie! It’s no trouble. Ye’re a constable of the Stronghold Guardian Corps! Since we dinna have a barracks on site, that means ye’re entitled to have a place to live nearby.” he reminded her. “Moradin’s beard, ye’re an uptight one, aren’t ye? Auld Vanskleig’s right when he says that working here for a bit’ll be good for ye.” he added.

Meredith opened and closed her mouth a few times, trying to find some way to protest, but couldn’t find the words to refute what her new commanding officer had just said. After a moment, she huffed a sigh,

“Aye, sir.” she grumbled. Lady Frigidwake shook her head,

“I’ll go make those calls now, then. Lieutenant Starhammer, was there anything else we needed to discuss in the meantime?” she asked. Smoothing down her skirt as she stood. Starhammer thought for a moment, then shook his head,

“Nothing that can’t wait until next week, lass.” The old soldier stood, with a bit of effort, and bowed slightly to the envoy, “In the meantime, please give my regards to Father Shiverstaff, and remind him that he still owes me drinks.” he added with a smile. Lady Frigidwake laughed and inclined her head slightly

“I’ll pass the message on.” she said. She turned to Meredith, who had by now also stood and was standing at attention again, “It was a pleasure to meet you Constable Gruksdottir, I look forward to working with you.” she said. Meredith snapped off a salute,

“Aye, Ma’am.” she stated. Lady Frigidwake smiled, sent Lieutenant Starhammer a knowing look, then swept out of the office. Starhammer sighed as he turned to Meredith,

“I’ve got my work cut out, haven’t I?” he muttered. He picked up the top sheet from a stack of papers, “Well, seeing as ye’ve been sent back down to start from scratch, I might as well have ye on guard duty at the front door until I get word of what Command wants done with ye, or we figure out where yer strengths lie.” he said. Meredith nodded brusquely and saluted again,

“Aye, sir.” she stated. She sent him a quizzical look, “May I ask what time I can leave my post, sir?” she asked. The Lieutenant sighed,

“Well, the office closes for the day at five-thirty. Seeing as I’m pretty much the only other person here for now, you might as well clock off then.” he replied. Meredith nodded,

“Of course, sir. Thank you, sir.” she said. There were a few moments’ silence until Starhammer heaved a sigh,

“Ye’re free to leave and get to yer post, Constable.” he said wearily. “If there does happen to be any trouble out there, ye do have permission to get involved.” he added just as Meredith began marching out the door.

“Understood, sir.” Meredith called as she finally exited the room, leaving Starhammer to wonder just what he’d gotten himself into. He opened the folder he’d been sent from Sergeant Major Ragnarsson, reading through the various evaluation forms and report summaries. He stroked his moustache thoughtfully,

“Well now, I think I owe the Field Marshal quite the favour for this.” he murmured.

#aquadestinyswriting #titan fighting fantasy au #modern au #meredith gruksdottir #olin starhammer #selene frigidwake #chrackle #fictional religion

[aquadestinyswriting]

Writing Snippet: A 'What If?'

Alright, so I did a bit of "speculative" writing for the Destiny's New Servants campaign before I took over as GM, trying to figure out where the first GM was going with the story. I've lost most of that writing due to changing laptops and being careless with file transfers over the years (make sure you back up your work kids), but I found this one hidden in the depths of my external hard drive about a month ago.

I vividly recall writing the following piece over the course of about a week. I started the morning after the session where Starhammer died because I wanted to remember every detail of that session, then just... carried on with my ideas of what might happen next.

Now, I was also wondering how best to have Merri leave the picture once I took hold of the reins of the campaign at this point. I had an idea of what I had planned to happen back in Fangthane, but the fact was, the first DM was not going to go easy on us, and it was very likely at least one of the characters would die in the fight against Darkhide. We also knew that Darkhide wanted to rip open the portal to the Pit again, and we'd used up all the God Clay that was left on Titan; what the hell were we going to do if he succeeded? So I wrote something to cover that exact scenario. It all becomes a bit self-indulgent, but that's part of why I like it so much. I apologise in advance to anyone using screen readers, I couldn't think of a decent way to split up the different sections of the story. I'll change it once I come up with something that isn't so much of a pain in the backside for you.

This fairly long piece covers the aftermath of Starhammer's death then skips forward a bit, just as a heads up. The speculative stuff starts after Merri's conversation with Elowyn and Enezeage.

Tags: @druidx, @sparrow-orion-writes , @homesteadchronicles, @warriorbookworm, @mariahwritesstuff, @writeblrsupport, @ashirisu, @thesorcerersapprentice, @blind-the-winds, @freedominique

Elowyn grumbled as Enezeage shimmied down the wall and back onto the street. She got down as the half-orc rolled his shoulders,

“Should we go in after them?” he asked, cracking his knuckles. Elowyn shook her head,

“No, first we need to find Meredith and find out if she wants to press charges.” She said firmly, “We can’t just go in and start arresting people.” Enezeage grumbled, but nodded and looked up the street, noticing that the Celestial Dog had paused in front of what seemed to be a grove of trees. He pointed to it,

“What’s that?” he asked. Elowyn wracked her brain for a moment,

“That’s the Grove of Obad-Hai.” She replied, cautiously running up to it and stopping as she saw a very pale and shaken looking Meredith come out of the trees, along with a man in dark brown clerical robes. The man bowed slightly to the Woodling and turned to Meredith,

“Remember what we said, Daughter of Moradin.” He said sternly, before melding with a nearby tree. Elowyn made a face as the Grove seemed to retract and create a firm barrier around the outside,

“I hate those trees.” She muttered, before turning her attention to Meredith. Upon seeing the look on the Dwarf’s face, she rushed up to her and wrapped her arms around her shoulders,

“Meredith, oh by all the Gods, what happened?” she asked as the other woman began to shake, quite violently, the Woodling noticed. Meredith’s breath hitched as she tried to speak but couldn’t seem to quite manage. Elowyn rubbed her shoulders, “Come on Merri, talk to us.” She said in as soothing as voice as she could manage, waving a hovering Enezeage back slightly. Meredith took a few shallow, shaky breaths and clutched the book she was carrying to her chest tightly,

“St–Starham–mer… he’s– he’s dead.” She finally managed to choke out, tears streaking down her face as the events of the whole evening finally hit her. Elowyn’s hands stopped abruptly, staring at the dwarf with wide-eyed shock,

“Wh–what happened?” she asked in a low voice. Meredith hugged herself tighter,

“The beer… the traitorous swine, he spiked the beer wi–wi’ ooze.” Elowyn’s heart dropped into her stomach,

“Oh no.” she moaned, bringing the traumatized dwarf into a tight hug, “Merri, I’m so, so sorry.” She said, tears stinging her own eyes. Enezeage grunted,

“What about those robed dudes?” he asked gruffly. Elowyn sighed and nodded, gently pushing the dwarf back so she could look at her again,

“I take it those guys showed up when you came outside?” she asked. Meredith nodded,

“Aye, they wanted tae know who I wis an– an’ whit I wis doiin’.” She replied, her voice raw, “I summoned the dug when they drew their swords an’ chased me doon the street.” She finally met Elowyn’s eyes, “They s–said they were bounty hunters.” Elowyn nodded,

“Right ok, Merri I have to ask you this because it’s important.” She said her tone turning a bit firmer, “Do you want to press charges against those guys?” she asked. Meredith fell silent for several long moments, chewing her bottom lip as she thought the question over. Finally, she slowly shook her head. Elowyn bit back a growl of frustration,

“Are you sure? We can get these guys arrested and taken off the streets.” She said. Meredith glanced down at the floor,

“I– It’s no’ worth it.” She said quietly, “D– dinna take this  the wrong way, but… I dinna trust that they won’t just get away’ with it.” Elowyn sighed and forced Meredith to look at her. When this was accomplished she pointed to her badge,

“You see this badge?” she said, “That means that I can go arrest those hooligans and get them locked up and make sure they never get out onto the streets again.” Meredith gave the Woodling a sullen glare,

“Then why don’t ye tell that to the officer who tried to kill me when they paid him off.” She retorted bitterly. Enezeage growled,

“Let’s just go take care of them, Elowyn. We know what they’re doing is wrong anyway.” Elowyn looked up at the Monk and shook her head as she came to the realisation that perhaps Meredith might be right,

“No, if Meredith doesn’t want to press charges, then we have no choice in the matter.” She told him firmly. She turned back to the Dwarf, who was still huddled into herself, “Are you sure you don’t want to press any charges?” she asked. Meredith nodded,

“Aye, it’s not as though anyone's gonna waste their time with the only dwarf left in the city anyway.” She muttered darkly. Elowyn sighed heavily,

“Alright.” She said, “Can you at least remember what this officer you ran into looked like?” Elowyn made up a mental image of the man as Meredith described him and nodded firmly. She recalled that he was likely one of the Road Wardens.

‘Right then, looks like I’ll need to go have a word with someone’s superior officer.’ She thought to herself, gently looping her arm around Meredith and guiding the poor woman away from the Grove,

“Come on then, let’s get you home.” She said gently, motioning with her head for Enezeage to take point. The Half-Orc grumbled, but did what he was silently told, tucking his arms into the sleeves of his own robe as the little group finally began to make their way back to Acacia Avenue.

~*~

Meredith rocked back on her heels with a sigh, she was devoted to Moradin, no question about that. However, even as she reached for His grace this morning, there was… nothing. The hollow feeling that was left behind after Starhammer’s death was hitting the young dwarf hard. Darkhide was still a massive threat that needed to be taken care of, but could she even be of any help to the others at this point? That she could not reach her God scared the cleric, although she knew it was unlikely that Moradin had forsaken her it was still disconcerting to receive no response to her daily prayers.

‘Not only that, but the High Priest and Archlector will have felt the shift by now as well.’ She thought to herself as she got up and made her way downstairs to the kitchen.

~*~

Orock had held a lovely service to Starhammer’s memory, Meredith thought, but that she could not hold a proper Dwarven ceremony upset her more than the knowledge that the older dwarf was gone. Elowyn, bless her, had tried to help but the Woodling just could not understand just how deeply Dwarves held their traditions. Unfortunately, even if there had been a body to bury, Moradin was not available to grant any Blessings and Meredith doubted that Throff would want to stick around either. Meredith was still nursing the first mug of ale she had been handed, unable to really bring herself to drink all that much, when a lanky human came rushing into the back room,

“Elowyn! We got a situation at the Garden of Galana!” Farren yelled as he dodged an irate Khord Inititate whose drink he had knocked over. The Woodling was on her feet instantly,

“What kind of situation?” she demanded, kicking Enezeage in the shin to wake him back up and rounding up the rest of her group. Farren grunted,

“Apparently, a bunch of men in black cloaks have a problem with the church’s High Priest and are trying to get into the Garden to ‘have a word’.” Elowyn frowned,

“But why would they…?” Elowyn muttered, trailing off as she realised what the problem was. She glanced over to Meredith, who had grabbed her mace and Book of Moradin and was looking over at the Paladin expectantly. Elowyn sighed and turned to Farren,

“Has the local Watch House responded yet?” she asked. Farren shook his head,

“The Captain in charge said something about it being an ‘ecumenical matter’.” He said, clearly not happy with that explanation. Elowyn frowned and turned to Meredith,

“You’re staying here.” She said simply, gesturing for the rest to follow her. She expected to hear an angry exclamation and to be asked why, so when it didn’t come, Elowyn looked back over her shoulder with a worried frown. Meredith had gone back to her seat, without comment and was back to staring into the mug of ale she had been nursing. Orock frowned as he looked between the dwarf and Woodling, and made his way to stand behind Meredith,

“I’ll keep an eye on her.” He rumbled, “You’d better get going.” He said, laying a large hand on the dwarf’s comparatively tiny shoulder. Elowyn nodded,

“Once we’ve sorted this whole thing out, I’ll get someone to come back and get her.” She said, running out of the Plot Hook and making her way, with the rest of her companions to the other side of the city.

~*~

Elowyn almost skidded to a stop as she finally made it to the Garden of Galana. She had expected that the Abouna would use some clerical magic to keep the area safe. What she hadn’t expected was the sight of a tall human Wizard with auburn hair and spectacles, standing in front of the entrance to the Garden, holding back a very irate group of humans in black cloaks.

“Step aside!” the leader of the people in black cloaks hissed, “There’s a stunty in there that has a very good price on his head.” The Wizard snorted,

“I’m giving you gentleman one last chance to leave before I get upset.” She replied evenly, gripping the Yew staff in her hand a little tighter. Elowyn smiled a little,

“Hey Derren, what do you say we let these fine men know who they’re back-chatting?” she asked, looking up at her partner. Farren, catching the look in the Woodling’s face, grinned,

“Yeah, why not?” he asked, grabbing his cosh. Elowyn looked back at Felix and Enezeage,

“You guys stay back here with Aurri and grab the ones that decide to scarper.” She said, “I think Abouna Shiverstaff and Grand Wizard Frigidwake are a bit more likely to try pressing charges so we can nick this sorry lot.” Enezeage grinned around his tusks and nodded,

“Finally.” He growled. Felix brought his hands into a casting position and nodded. Elowyn looked up to Farren again and nodded, casually walking around the group of men until she came around to the front.

“Is there a problem, Grand Magus?” Elowyn asked, using her best ‘on the beat copper’ voice. The leader whirled around, a little panicked as he suddenly seemed to realise just who it was he was up against. Selene smirked a little and looked over to Elowyn,

“Good afternoon, Officer O’Toreguard, Officer Breakwood.” She greeted happily, “I was just asking these fine gentlemen to leave the area.” She explained, “They seem to have this ridiculous notion that they can collect a bounty on the good Abouna’s head, despite Toreguard Law clearly stating that all religious figures are under the full protection of the Drakemarie Empire.” She added. Elowyn tapped her chin thoughtfully,

“Really now?” she asked, turning to the group of humans, “What do you lot have to say about these accusations then?” she asked politely. The leader, who had backed off, glowered at the Woodling,

“Seems like there was a bit of a misunderstanding.” He said in a low voice, “We weren’t aware that the… dwarf that was in the area was the High Priest of the church.” He said. Elowyn looked at her fingernails and tutted,

“Well you see, that’s a bit of a problem. I was under the impression that the few Dwarves still in the city were still protected from murder and abuse under general Toreguard Law, not just the religious figures.” She said, glancing up to her partner, “Officer Breakwood, what do you think?” she asked. Farren tapped his cosh against his boot,

“I think you’re right, O'Toreguard.” He said, “I don’t recall any news about changes to the law, I think I’d remember if someone said something about Dwarves being fair game.” The leader of the other group backed up some more,

“Well, we’ll just be on our way then.” He said, turning around in an attempt to get away, only to find that the people at the back had already been either knocked out or frozen in place as they tried to flee. Enezeage cracked his knuckles,

“Hullo there sunshine.” He growled, grinning somewhat menacingly. The human grunted as Farren grabbed his wrists and cuffed him. Elowyn turned to Selene,

“Well at least now we can get this lot booked once we get them to the nearest station.” She said. The Wizard nodded,

“I believe I can help with that.” She smiled. She looked up to a nearby rooftop and whistled. Almost immediately a large magpie flew down and fluttered onto her shoulder. Selene tickled the bird under his beak, “Chrackle, take this down to the nearest Watch House, we need a couple of wagons to take these fine gentlemen there.” She said, quickly taking out a slip of parchment and quill and making a note. The magpie chuckled as she tied the note to its leg. Selene rolled her eyes,

“After you get back. Stop being greedy.” She chastised. The magpie chuckled again as it flew off. Selene looked at the group of men, who were being rounded up by Farren and Enezeage, then turned to Elowyn,

“Thank you for the help Elowyn.” She sighed, pushing her glasses up her nose, “I didn’t want to have to resort to casting anything to scare them off.” Elowyn nodded as she leaned against the outer wall around the Garden, watching as Farren read the whole group their rights

“I know, at least I’ve managed to get a hold of these guys now.” She sighed, shaking her head. Selene frowned down at the Woodling,

“What happened?” she asked in a low voice. Elowyn shook her head sadly,

“These guys don’t know it, but Enezeage and I know exactly what they’re about. Merri sent a Celestial Dog to find us because she was in trouble. She ran into these guys last night and they chased her all the way from the Dwarven District to the Grove of Obad-Hai.” Selene frowned,

“Why didn’t she stay in the temple?” she asked, “Between them she and Starhammer should have…” Elowyn was shaking her head again,

“Starhammer’s dead Selene.” The Woodling said, her voice tight. “By the time ‘Zeage and I got there, the temple didn’t look too good either.” Selene sighed heavily and pushed her glasses up her nose,

“Egrim’s not going to be pleased with the news.” She muttered, “Once word reaches Fangthane about that, every dwarf in the vicinity is going to get called back there and Father Shiverstaff only just got this place back up and running.” The two women watched as a paddy wagon rumbled up the street and the robed men were loaded onto. Chrackle landed on Selene’s shoulder with a satisfied croak. The Wizard fished out a regular gold coin from her purse and handed it to the bird, who chuckled happily. The captain of the nearby watchhouse approached and saluted Selene smartly,

“Do we know if the High Priest wishes to press charges?” he asked. Elowyn stepped forward,

“Elowyn O’Toreguard, watchhouse eight sir.” She greeted smartly with a salute of her own, “If you will allow the Grand Wizard and myself an hour or so to talk to the Abouna about the matter we can let you know as soon as we can.”  The Captain narrowed his eyes slightly, but nodded,

“Very well then. I will get these lads back to the watchhouse while we wait.” He said stiffly. Once he was gone, both Elowyn and Selene frowned in concern,

“ Do you think they might get away with it after all that?” Elowyn asked quietly. Selene sighed,

“Almost certainly.” She replied heavily, “But we can’t dwell on that right now. I think we’d better let Egrim know they’re gone.” The Wizard looked expectantly at her familiar, who croaked in acknowledgement and fluttered to a heavy vine. The bird cocked its head for a moment before tapping on the wood. After a moment the vines retracted and another Woodling popped her head out of the door to the church,

“Elowyn, Selene?!” she exclaimed, rushing out and pulling the Paladin into a hug, “Oh, I’m so glad you’re safe! I was so worried!” Selene smiled and nodded in greeting, while Elowyn hugged the other woman,

“I know mum. Look, can we come in and see the Abouna? It’s important.” Oakrose nodded,

“Of course dear, come on in, all of you. I’ll get the kettle on.” The whole group were ushered inside and told to wait in the refectory. Selene held up a hand before going inside. She quickly gestured and muttered a few words, a silver shimmer hanging in the air for a few moments before dissipating. The Wizard nodded, satisfied,

“That should keep out any further, unwanted guests.”  She said as Oakrose gave her a concerned look. The older Woodling shrugged and went back to work while Selene joined the others. After a few moments a dwarf with a wood-brown beard and blue(?) eyes bustled into the room. He seemed relieved to see who had shown up,

“Ta fer gettin’ rid of’ those idiots out there.” He said giving everyone a grateful smile, “ I wis off a mind tae ask the Council what the bloody hells they were playin’ at an’ getting’ help from the Druids.” Selene shook her head,

“You honestly didn’t think I would leave you to deal with those hooligans yourself, Egrim?” she asked. The dwarf waved his hand,

“Ach! I ken you would’t Sel, ye’re pretty much the only one on tha bloody thing that's no’ a backstabbing–” Elowyn held up her hand,

“Ok I think we get the idea Abouna.” She chuckled, “The ‘idiots’ as you call them, have all been arrested on various charges so they shouldn’t be bothering you again.” Egrim snorted derisively,

“Until they’re all released again in a week, tops.” He retorted. He shook his head upon seeing the expression on Elowyn’s face at his comment, “Dinna get me wrong, child, but I’m no’ blind nor deaf. Aside from myself, yon wee cleric friend an’ a handfull o’ Slayers, there’s no one else left this side o’ Fangthane.” He pointed out. Elowyn’s face fell,

“If I can get enough evidence…” She said desperately. The dwarf sighed heavily,

“Elowyn, lass, I ken ye’re tryin’ yer best, but ye’re only one of a very few that actually care about this.” He nodded to Farren, who was making up a fresh rollie. The human shrugged,

“Hate to break it to you kid, but ours is the only Watchhouse that was still going anywhere near the Dwarven district.” He lit the cigarette and took a drag, “I think the Council are pretty much just looking the other way until it all ‘blows over’, especially since we’ll be under siege by a massive horde of undead in about a day or so.” Egrim barked out a humourless laugh,

“’Blows over’ he says. Bah!” the dwarf went over to a nearby ale cask, drew himself a tankard, checked the contents and took a swig, “Given what happened last night, they’ll be lucky if they’re no’ fightin’ a fresh war immediately after this.” Elowyn’s eyes went wide and looked between the Abouna and Selene,

“But why would they do something like that?” she asked plaintively. Selene sighed heavily,

“Mostly because the whole city has likely been placed on the Fangthane Book of Grudges, Elowyn.” She explained, “From what Edwin told me the last time I contacted him, the Low King is under a lot of pressure from the displaced dwarves that are now living there to get some kind of retribution for the people that have lost their homes, livelihoods and even family members.” Elwoyn shook her head,

“But Starhammer wasn’t even killed by this Brotherhood of the Cleave. They were still outside and waiting when Merri came out of the temple.” She protested. That earned her a confused look from the Abouna, who paused while taking another swig of ale,

“Wait, what?” he asked, putting his tankard down, “So if those bastards weren’t responsible, who was?” Enezeage snorted,

“From what Meredith told us last night, it looks like it was that Grinbeard guy.”

“Grimebeard? Garl Grimebeard?” the dwarf asked, looking between the rest of Elowyn’s group. Elowyn nodded,

“Yeah, turns out he had forsaken Moradin and was poisoning people with Oozes disguised as beer. I thought we took care of him?” she asked looking over to Felix and Enezeage. Felix shook his head slowly,

“No, it was one of the other members of his family, remember?” he replied, “The others had long gone by the time we took care of the Clay Golem created out of that poor gnome and the Oozes in the cauldrons.” Both Elowyn and Egrim looked like they were going to be sick,

“We never got around to trying to find the rest of them.” Elowyn muttered, “I honestly thought it was Garl we took care of and the rest just scarpered.” She buried her head in her hands. Selene looked over to Egrim with worry,

“What’s the matter, Egrim?” she asked. The dwarf sat down heavily,

“I’ve been in contact with Fangthane a lot recently, fer obvious reasons. I wis wonderin’ aboot tha rumours goin’ about around some folk goin’ missing’ recently. I don’t think the activities of ol’ Grimebeard has been limited tae Toreguard.”

“You think he might be responsible for the disappearances?” Selene asked. The Abouna nodded,

“Ragnarsson mentioned somethin’ about finding some bad beer in the Cathedral’s cellar. I didn't think anything’ of it at first, even dwarven beer goes bad if it’s kept long enough, but…”

“They’re trying to get rid of every Moradin worshipper they can.” Selene muttered, “But why?” the wizard looked up at her old friend, “We need to get word to Fangthane about this, now.” She said firmly, “

“There might be a problem with that, lovies.” Oakrose said as she came into the refectory, handing Egrim a scroll. The Dwarf unrolled it and quickly read through it. He crumpled the parchment not long after,

“Bollocks tae that.” He swore, tossing the balled up parchment to the floor. Selene sighed,

“Let me guess, all communications out of the city have been forbidden, including all scrying and other magical means?” she asked lightly. Elowyn groaned as the dwarf nodded with a weary sigh,

“An’ afore ye ask, I rather think they’ll include familiars as magical objects.” Selene snorted,

“I’m well aware of that Egrim.” She snipped, “Luckily, if there’s one thing Alexis did manage to teach me in the time I travelled with her, it’s to never just rely on one or two methods of communication. That and to never kowtow to a giant red lizard who thinks he’s smarter than you.” She added. Elowyn frowned in confusion,

“What are you going to do?” she asked nervously. The Wizard honestly scared her sometimes. Selene sent the Woodling a reassuring smile,

“Just going to visit an old friend to ask for a bit of help.” She said, “But first, I think I’d better go and fetch your cleric. She’ll be safer here.”

~*~

Much, much later

Darkhide laughed maniacally even as the last of his life seeped from him,

“You’re too late.” he coughed wetly, spraying blood, “The portal is open, the way is clear. A– and you have no God Clay to– to save you.” He chuckled, his throat gargling. Elowyn dropped to her knees, despair written all over her features. Enezeage had bowed his head and placed his hands in his sleeves, while Felix cried out in anger and anguish. Quintin closed his eyes and prayed silently to Correlon Lorethion for a swift death. Meredith, however, struggled to her feet,

“No.” she growled, wincing from the beating Darkhide had given her earlier, “I am not admitting any sort of defeat to you.” She spat, glaring at the Necromancer. Darkhide grinned darkly,

“Do I need… to remind you girl? Moradin… is dead.” He said, now gasping for air. Meredith snorted, looking over at the giant rend in the earth in front of the group.

“I heard ye the first time, ye bag o’ wind.” She said flatly, “But ye never said anything’ about Throff.” She added, glancing back at the dying human. Darkhide frowned momentarily, then his eyes widened,

“No.” he croaked, his last breath finally leaving him as he attempted to reach out towards Meredith, who was staggering over to the portal’s edge. Elowyn jumped to her feet,

“Merri? What are you doing?” the Paladin yelped, racing up next to the dwarf. Meredith looked down at the chasm with a determined expression,

“Finishing’ this.” She replied. She looked up at Elowyn, “Take the others, and run.” She commanded, “If this doesn’t work, ye’ll need tae evacuate as many people as ye can from the Plains.” Elowyn frowned and shook her head quickly,

“But what about you?” she asked. Meredith sighed and glanced back at the chasm,

“That doesn’t matter.” She said quietly, she looked back up at the Woodling sharply, “Now get goin’!” she snapped, a ripple of power washing over Elowyn. The Paladin tried to resist, but found herself unable to. She glared back at the dwarf, even as her feet took her away, tears stinging in her eyes. Meredith watched her friends leave, guilt tearing at her heart,

“I’m sorry.” She muttered, “But this is my burden to bear.” The Inquisitor turned back to the portal, took a deep breath and knelt. She took a moment and then began to cast,

“Throff, gentle Mother of my people, know that I do not make this request of You lightly. I am fully aware of the cost involved and I will pay it.” She prayed, gathering up as much power as she could muster, “Please, grant me the strength to close this abomination, to heal this world that has been wounded so badly already.” She begged, tears stinging her eyes. After a moment, Meredith felt the earth beneath her ripple slightly. She smiled softly; there may not have been any spare God Clay left, but wasn’t Titan made of the stuff? The Dwarf closed her eyes tightly, pushing yet more power into the spell, feeling it drain her very soul as the earth finally began to move, closing the portal to the Abyss. Demons, who had been making their way up from the bottom of the Pit, screeched as slowly, their means of escape closed in around them. They pushed back and the spell wavered.

Meredith was almost completely tapped out, black spots obscured her vision as she felt the resistance,

“No,” she breathed, “I–I am not letting…” her breathing became shallower as she tried to push yet more power into the Shaping spell. It was then she felt a gentle brush on her shoulder. She blinked back the blackness creeping into her vision and looked in the direction the touch had come from. Stringwhiskers, limned in a golden light, twitched his nose at her,

“We know what you doing.” He squeaked, “We come to help.”

“You got this Merri, keep going.” Alphonse’s voice encouraged from somewhere behind her. Looking around at the faces of her deceased friends and travelling companions, Meredith nodded and glared at the portal, which was slowly pushing back open. Gathering up what little strength she had left, the dwarf pushed it all into the spell. The earth rumbled violently as the two opposing forces clashed, but finally, with a deafening ‘boom!’ the portal snapped shut. The hand of a Balor that had been unlucky enough to get in the way, wavered then disintegrated into dust on the wind as everything finally settled. A weak ray of sunlight lit up the ground where the portal had been and a bird flew over and perched on the out of place hammer that glinted as the clouds above Castle Dire finally broke.

When the Command spell finally wore off Elowyn and the others, they were most of the way along the road to Toreguard. Almost immediately, the Woodling spun around and began marching back up the road towards Castle Dire,

“When I get a hold of that girl, she is getting the earbashing of the century!” she snarled. Felix tugged on her arm nervously,

“What was Merri even doing?” he asked. Elowyn shook her head,

“The stupid woman’s probably trying to close the portal by herself.” She replied. Enezeage strode in front of the Woodling,

“Then maybe, it’s a good idea to do what we were told?” he suggested. Elowyn was about to give the Monk a scathing reply, when the earth under their feet rumbled. Felix squeaked and grabbed a hold of Quintin’s leg. The Elf staggered a little at the sudden gesture, but was quick to find his footing again. Enezeage grabbed a hold of Elowyn’s arm as the Paladin fell back with the sudden movement, a large, squat sea of calm amidst the chaos. Felix looked around in awe as the tremor ceased,

“Whoa, someone’s either being really stupid or really brave to try casting this big a spell.” He said, his eyes wide. Elowyn frowned and checked to see if there was anyone evil nearby that was attempting to cast something new. The only hint of red she found though, was a brilliant glow up where the portal had been opened.

“OK, ow. Remember that big ass portals to the Abyss don’t need to be checked for Evil.” She muttered as she blinked her vision back. Felix shook his head,

“It’s not an arcane spell.” He called as another, larger rumble shook the road beneath them. He waited until the new tremor had passed before continuing as he studied the lines of power only he could see, “I think… yeah, it’s Divine Magic. It’s all white and gold.” Elowyn paled and looked up towards Castle Dire,

“Merri, what are you playing at?” she whispered. Aurianna mewled from her perch on the Paladin’s shoulder,

“I think she’s trying to use a Shape spell to close the portal.” She said quietly. Elowyn frowned,

“How? There’s no God Clay left, right?” she asked, now beginning to panic. Enezeage hummed as he realised something,

“That’s true,” he rumbled, “but what did Titan make the world out of?” he asked. Elowyn’s eyes went wide as an even bigger tremor rumbled through the earth, causing everyone to lose their footing. Once it was over, a massive ‘Boom!’ rent the air then… the earth stilled. The group looked at one another questioningly as they got up. After no further tremors came along, Elowyn rushed up the road as fast as her legs could carry her, at least until Enezeage hoisted her onto his shoulder and ran the rest of the way for her.

Once they reached the top, the group looked around in shock. Darkhide’s body was still pretty much exactly where it had been left, as had the bodies of the other Cabal members and the undead. There was, however, no sign of the portal. Or of Meredith. Elowyn was let down as Enezeage looked around in confused awe,

“MERRI!” Elowyn called desperately. She ran around the grounds of Castle Dire, looking for any sign of her old friend, “MEREDITH!” She ran around the rest of the huge courtyard, “Meredith Gruksdottir, you get your ass over here right now!” There was no reply, aside from the croaking of the ravens that had come along to feast on the dead. Quintin quickly came around the corner,

“Elo, I think you need to come have a look at this.” He called. The elf looked confused and upset. Elowyn rushed over to him,

“What’s going on?” she asked. The Ranger held out an elaborate mace. It was made of the best Iron and etched all over with Dwarven Runes. Meredith’s warmace. Elowyn reached out to touch it, but quickly withdrew her hand,

“Where did you find this?” she asked sharply. Quintin turned around and nodded to the courtyard behind him,

“Next to the edge of where the portal should have been.” He replied heavily, “We’ve looked everywhere in the area. There’s no sign of her besides this.” Elowyn glared at the elf,

“There has to be!” she snapped, her voice tight with emotion as she ran over to where the portal had been less than an hour before. Quintin sighed and followed the Woodling at a more sedate pace, tickling a raven that had landed on his shoulder under its beak.

Elowyn reached the knoll where the portal had not long before torn a hole through reality to the Abyss and looked around desperately, tears streaming down her face. The rest of her party finally arrived in the area, looking as lost and confused as the Woodling felt. She looked at each other them, still hoping there was something, anything else. Slowly they shook their heads. Cragspine approached the Woodling, who was now hugging her knees into her chest and sobbing. He gently touched the Paladin’s hand,

“Meredith might not be here, but portal is gone.” He said in a low voice, “This place saturated with Divine Magic, she obviously successful.” He pointed out. Elowyn really didn’t take too much comfort in the little Kobold’s words. The Dwarf, despite some of her faults, had managed to more or less survive their entire journey and had been a welcome, steady presence when everything had, as they often said to one another, ‘turned to shit’.

“It’s not fair.” She sniffled, “Why did all the big stuff have to fall on just her?” Cragspine shook his head,

“The Gods are fickle.” He reminded her, “Come, we go tell big human peoples news.” He said gently, tugging on the sleeve of the Woodling’s overcoat. Elowyn lifted her head and slowly shook her head,

“You guys go on ahead, I need a minute.” Cragspine looked back at Enezeage with a questioning expression. The Half-Orc nodded and shooed everyone else back to the road to Toreguard. The Monk turned to Elowyn,

“Don’t be too long.” He rumbled. Elowyn nodded as he turned around and followed the others. When she was finally alone, Elowyn knelt on the grass and prayed,

“I hope you managed to find wherever it was you wanted to go.” She said, fresh tears making their way down her cheeks, “You really do have a bad habit of wanting to outdo yourself though, don’t you?” she laughed, “I will personally make sure that what you managed to accomplish today is properly recognised though. Maybe once word gets out about it, people back home will stop being such dicks to Dwarves again.” She looked at her hands, which were balled up on her knees, “I’m going to really miss you. I mean, it’s no fun being the only girl with a bunch of men and who am I going to complain about Gorgeous with now?” The Paladin sighed heavily, “Sleep well, Sister. Hope you’re waiting with a mug of decent beer by the time I join you up there.”  She said with a faint smile. The Woodling pulled herself to her feet and looked up at the sky above her, saluted and finally left.

~*~

Even though it was well after dark by the time Elowyn and what remained of her party got back to Toreguard, General Strucker was waiting at the gates for them,

“Did you manage to stop him?” he asked, clearly nervous about the answer he was about to receive. Enezeage, who had picked up Darkhide’s body on his way back, dropped it at the General’s feet,

“There’s the evidence.” He grunted. The General slowly grinned at the sight,

“So it’s over.” He breathed, “At last.” He gestured for one of the guards with him to take the body, “Get that to the Wizard’s Tower, no doubt they’ll want to make sure that there’s no chance of him being resurrected or have any other means of coming back.” He ordered. Two of the guards saluted, picked up the body and carted it off immediately. The General frowned as he looked the group over, “Hang on a minute, what happened to your Dwarf friend?” he asked. Elowyn stepped forward, Meredith’s mace in her hands,

“She fell closing a new portal to the Abyss that Darkhide managed to open before he died.” She said quietly, “If it’s all the same to you, General, I’d rather explain the situation in front of people who know more about magic than I do.” She requested. The General’s face fell as he regarded the beautiful weapon and nodded,

“Indeed. Come, I’ll arrange for a full Wizard’s council in the main Council Chambers for you. Grand Magus Frigidwake is something of a night owl these days and I’ve no doubt she’ll want to know exactly what happened.” He said. Felix coughed, getting the man’s attention,

“You might want to call on some of the religious leaders as well.” The gnome said, “Meredith was, after all, a cleric of Moradin.” The General nodded again,

“Duly noted, Master Gnome, I shall take note of that. But enough, I rather think you all deserve a bit of rest before you get bombarded from all sides with questions.” He said rather more gently, “We’ve arranged for you to stay in the Plot Hook overnight so that you can have a bit of a lie in.” Everyone nodded tiredly, following the General to a rather large and luxurious carriage and piling inside. By the time Orock showed them all to their rooms, they were all already mostly asleep and dead to the world by the time their heads hit their pillows.

~*~

Elowyn found herself feeling oddly calm as she waited outside the main council chambers the next morning. Perhaps, she thought, it was the absence of the Merchant’s Guild, or maybe it was because she had a decent night’s sleep for the first time in what seemed like forever. No matter what the reason, she walked confidently into the large chamber, alongside her friends, who also seemed far more at ease. Selene smiled at the group warmly as she took her seat at the head of the chamber and waited for the rest of the Wizard’s Council and Toreguard’s Religious Council to sit. This done, she leaned forward in her chair,

“Elowyn O’Toreguard, Paladin of the Light and Sergeant of Watchhouse 8, Northwest Precinct, can you please explain to the council what, exactly, transpired at Castle Dire yesterday morning and afternoon?” she asked calmly. The Woodling nodded and stepped forward, telling the combined Head Wizards and Religious leaders of the fight with Darkhide and the rest of the Cabal, of Darkhide’s apparent defeat then his opening of a new portal to the Abyss that was made permanent with the sacrifice of what seemed to be the population of a nearby village. She then went on to explain how, despite being beaten bloody and almost to death earlier, Meredith, Inquisitor of Moradin, had refused to admit defeat and sent the rest of her party away.

“We’re not sure what she did,” Elowyn said, her throat tightening at the memory, “but whatever it was, she managed to completely and utterly seal the portal. The only thing we could find of her when we returned to Castle Dire, was her warmace.” She finished, gesturing to the item, which had been placed on a plush cushion on a table near the front of the room. The Head Priest of Pellor stood and regarded the mace with a curious expression,

“I must admit, my fellows and I felt a very large pull of Divine Magic just before the earthquakes started.” He said, looking around at his fellow High Priests, who were all nodding, “How this single cleric accomplished such a thing is… well none of us have been able to work it out.” He admitted, “Normally a large ritual has to be involved to pull such a large amount of magic into a single area.”

“Perhaps I can help with your query.” A voice quavered from behind Elowyn. She frowned as Selene’s eyes went wide and the Wizard stood with a hasty, deep bow. She looked over her shoulder to find a very elderly dwarf come into the room, escorted by several beardlings and leaning heavily on an elaborate metalwork staff. Elowyn bowed deeply as well, though noting with worry that the old dwarf appeared to be quite unwell.

“Archlector Vanskleig, it is a real honour to have you visit us.” Selene said, her tone worried as, she too, noted that the old dwarf was clearly unfit to have travelled such a long distance, “Someone get him a seat!” she snapped as she hurried down from her position to assist the beardlings in helping him to a chair that was conjoured by a junior wizard. The elderly dwarf smiled warmly at the Wizard as she knelt in front of him,

“Do you require anything, Archlector, a drink of water perhaps?” she asked Vanskleig shook his head,

“No, child. I am here to find out what happened yesterday.” He replied evenly, “I am afraid I do not travel well using portals.” He added. Selene nodded and stepped back, looking over to Elowyn,

“Elowyn, dear, can you quickly summarise what happened at Castle Dire again?” she asked. Elowyn, despite how soul sick she felt to recall the events again, nodded,

“Of course, Grand Magus.” She replied. Taking a moment to centre herself again before repeating what she had told the Council. Once she was done, the Archlector nodded,

“You recall that Meredith was a Shaper, correct?” he asked. Elowyn thought back to when the group had visited Fangthane the first time and nodded,

“Yes, Your Holiness, I do.” She replied, “However, I do not see how that would have helped matters.” She admitted. Vanskleig smiled, his grey eyes twinkling,

“Ah, but it does help. Quite a lot actually.” He replied with a weary chuckle. He looked around the rest of the Council, “The ability to Shape is a rare one.” He said, “It only occurs once in every three or four Dwarven generations, and has only ever been found in one family line.” He explained, “Few know of the Redhammer Clan, but when they were exiled from Fangthane we believed the ability to Shape had been lost to the worshippers of Moradin and Throff forever.” He tapped his chin thoughtfully, “That is, until young Meredith Gruksdottir displayed the ability; at a very young age as I recall.” He shook his head, “The gift of Shaping is a blessing from Throff, She who found the Magic Clay. It would seem that when the portal to the Abyss was opened, Meredith realised that the only way to close it permanently was using what had since become known as God Clay.” He explained. Selene shook her head as several voices piped up,

“Wasn’t it used to seal up the portal under the Wizard’s Tower?”

“I didn’t think there was any of it left.”

“Where would you even get the stuff from anyway.”

The Grand Magus sighed and slammed her staff on the floor,

“If you must ask questions, do so one at a time!” she snapped, “I should not need to remind any of you about good manners!” The High Priests and Wizards who had stood up to ask their questions all at once sat back down, looking suitably embarrassed with themselves. Selene turned back to the Archlector, who was chuckling,

“Ah, now that’s the young Wizard I remember hearing about ten years ago, I did wonder what had happened to her.” He noted with a warm, grandfatherly smile. Selene bit back an embarrassed laugh as the Archlector proceeded to look around the Council Chamber again,

“As to your questions. Yes, there is no more spare God Clay that we know of, however is not Titan made of the stuff?” he asked. Before anyone could answer, he was talking again, “From what has been described, it would seem that Throff, upon seeing the calamity that was unfolding, granted young Meredith a chance to use Titan itself to seal this new portal.” The Archlector sighed heavily, “Of course, such a casting requires a significant cost.” He looked over to the mace at the far end of the room, suddenly seeming so much older than he already was, “Clearly young Gruksdottir felt that the price asked was worth the safety of Allansia, if not all of Titan.” He said, his voice low and heavy with grief. Silence reigned as the enormity of what had actually happened settled on the rest of the Chamber. That one lone dwarf had sacrificed everything to prevent a disaster worse than had occurred ten years ago from happening again was, clearly, quite a lot to take in. Selene nodded gravely,

“Thank you, Archlector. It looks like we all have rather a lot to reflect upon. Especially given the behaviour of some of the city’s people towards the Dwarven people as of late.” She stood and regarded her fellows, “I think it would be best if we took a recess for the next four hours. When we get back, we will discuss what needs to be done to properly celebrate and honour those who have already given this city so much.” She glanced over to Elowyn and the others as she spoke, striking her oaken staff on the floor and sweeping out of the room. Elowyn ignored the mumble of conversation going on as she approached the Archlector and knelt before him,

“Your Grace, I have a couple of questions if I may.” She said quietly, Aurianna quickly scampering up beside her. The Archlector regarded the Paladin and nodded, waving off his beardling assistants,

“I’ll be alright, I will call when we are done.” He assured them gently. The eldest of them bowed politely and ushered the other outside, knowing that this was a private matter. Elowyn smiled gratefully to the old dwarf,

“Thank you.” She said. Vanskleig motioned for her to sit,

“It is no trouble, child. You are clearly worried about something and wish for guidance. I would be a poor cleric to ignore such a request.” He assured her. Elowyn shifted uncomfortably,

“Darkhide said during the fight against him that… he said Moradin was dead.” She said, trying not to avoid the subject, “I assumed he was merely trying to scare Meredith, but before we left the city, she mentioned that she had not been able to reach Him.” She looked up at the Archlector with worry, “Was Darkhide telling the truth? I thought Moradin had merely forsaken Toreguard following Starhammer’s untimely death.” Vanskleig sighed heavily and leaned back in his chair thoughtfully,

“As a friend of Meredith, I feel safe in letting you know what has happened.” He said, “However, this information is to go no further than us unless it becomes something that needs to be dealt with.” He told her firmly. Elowyn nodded, hugging her knees to her chest by now,

“You have my word Archlector.” She said. The elderly dwarf nodded, satisfied,

“The Dwarven people are currently in crisis, my dear.” He explained, “There is much upheaval occurring at the moment both in Fangthane, and until recently, here in Toreguard. As a result of what has happened here of late, Moradin’s followers have become… unsure of themselves and their faith is wavering. As a result, Moradin is less powerful than He would normally be and is attempting to consolidate Himself.” Vanskleig sighed, “My faith in the Dwarf Father is as strong as ever, my dear, however, I am old and while I have a replacement, I worry for my people following my passing.” Elowyn nodded,

“That’s– That’s some heavy stuff. But I am glad to know that Moradin still exists. It eases my heart just a little.” The Archlector smiled,

“You cared very deeply for her, that much is clear.” He said in a low voice, “When I return to Fangthane, I will ensure that young Meredith is properly remembered by all under the mountain. While she passed far, far too young, she was devoted not just to Moradin, but to her people and her world. Take strength in the knowledge that you knew Meredith for who she truly was, not the legend she will obviously become.” He advised. Elowyn nodded, wiping at her eyes as they welled up again,

“Thank you Archlector, I will.” She replied, getting up and bowing, even as the Archlector called for his assistants.

~*~

Later:

“I ‘eard a little about what happened.” Mrs Higgins said quietly once everyone else had left the kitchen, leaving the Woodling alone with her thoughts. Elowyn looked up at the house’s matron,

“I think the news has made its way most of the way around the city by now.” She said with a weak chuckle. The old human fished out an envelope from the pocket in the front of her pinnie,

“Miss Meredith left this with me before you left to go to Castle Dire.” She said quietly, “Said I should give it you when you got back.” Elowyn took the envelope, her hands shaking slightly as she regarded the firm, almost runic strokes of her old friend’s handwriting. The Woodling nodded to Mrs Higgins,

“Thank you, can you go and fetch me a pot of tea? I think I’ll probably need it after reading this.” She asked in a small voice. The maid nodded in sympathy,

“I’ll go fetch a small pot of brandy to go with as well, dear.” She said, bobbing in a curtsey, before bustling off to the other end of the large kitchen. Elowyn stared at the unopened envelope for several long moments, both longing to read the letter inside, and not yet willing to acknowledge that the dwarf was never coming back. Finally, she broke the wax seal on the back and took out the parchment inside:

Dearest Elowyn,

If you have received this letter, then that means the inevitable has happened. Whatever form this has taken, know that I do not want you, or any of the others, to blame yourselves. When Moradin comes calling, I kind of have to answer Him, right? I wanted to let you know just how much the time we have managed to spend with one another has meant to me.

I know that you love your city and pray to Moradin and Throff both that, once time has had a chance to dull the wounds left behind by this most recent conflict, that our people can live in peace with one another again. I trust that Justice will be done for the atrocities that have been committed, and know that, somehow, you’ll be right there in the middle of it. Please never lose sight of that goal, for I know that it might be the only thing that you have left to cling to when the shadows gather and fate feels like it’s ripped everything and everyone out from under your feet. I tell you this as a reminder. In these last days before we finally face Darkhide, the Light that you have brought into my life has been the only thing keeping me going when I truly believed that I had lost everything.

Even though we have had our differences in opinion, know that I have ever seen you as a Sister and, therefore regard you as kin. No matter the challenges that lay ahead of you, know that I am proud to have stood by your side as you grew from a simple Officer of the Watch into a Paladin that has learned the hard way how to lead and inspire others. Even as both of our peoples face dark and uncertain futures I know that you will be there to help light the way to a better future for all.

Should you ever have need to pass through the lands around Fangthane in your travels, please take the enclosed with you.  It will identify you as a close and trusted friend of the Dwarven people and ought to keep you and your travelling companions safe despite the Grudge that will likely be in place by now.

Stay safe òrdugh piuthar and while I hope to meet you again when you finally pass to this next life, I hope it is a very long time coming.

May the rocks stay ever true under your feet,

Meredith, Daughter of Gruk, Son of Ovak

Inquisitor of Moradin 13th level

The sheafs of parchment shook and drops of water splotched the ink as Elowyn finished reading through the letter. Meredith had clearly known that it was unlikely that she would survive the fight against Darkhide. The Woodling frowned through her tears as she realised that there was something else still in the envelope. She gingerly shook whatever it was out onto the table, her heart breaking even further than she ever thought possible as she regarded the item. It was a simple Mythril necklace with a finely crafted dwarven Warhammer attached to it. Both were covered in intricate dwarven runes. Meredith’s Holy Symbol. Elowyn had seen the dwarf use it often enough to Turn the undead to recognise it immediately.

#aquadestinyswriting #titan fighting fantasy #destiny's new servants #titan fighting fantasy au #“speculative” fiction #elowyn o'toregaurde #meredith gruksdottir #enezeage #felix parker-tinker #quentin goldenrose #selene frigidwake #egrim shiverstaff

[aquadestinyswriting]

Apologeticum Debet

Summary: A reply from Selene to the letter Elowyn left her in Si Quis Mihi. It may or may not have actually been sent.

Words: 560

Warnings: None that I can think of

Note: Why, yes, I am plugging my friend's writing with this one. Please do go check it out. I got inspired when re-reading the work linked above

tags: @druidx, @sparrow-orion-writes, @ashirisu, @blind-the-winds, @philosophika, @the-down-upside-finch

Dearest Elowyn,

I know I’ve not been the easiest person to talk to this last year and a half. I regret to say that I allowed the stress of my job, and my fears, to get the better of me and I took it all out on you. That wasn’t fair. 

You are quite right, I did react out of both fear and love. Out of the mis-matched family those of us that were left created, you were one of the only two I had left that I could call as such. I had already lost everyone else (Edwin notwithstanding) and I could not bear the idea of losing you too. Especially to a plan that I, possibly mistakenly, believed had only succeeded due to sheer dumb luck.

I will admit that I was also deeply hurt at the fact that I was kept entirely out of the loop regarding said plan. While I may have initially wanted to go off half-cocked, I am not such a slave to my temper that I couldn’t be convinced to sit down and listen. I know my fits of temper are frightening to witness, but to know that it means that those around me feel I can’t be trusted to know of things that will initially upset me hurts far more than anything else in this world. 

Then again, here is the pot calling the kettle black. I ought to have more trust in you and your friends. I need to trust that you are more than capable of looking after yourself even in the face of greatest danger and that you will either come home safely, or you will turn to either myself or someone else equally qualified to help should anything go wrong. It does help to know that you have such capable friends, and that they seem to take great offence to your being harmed. As much as Snotgrut and his general social obliviousness annoys me, I am grateful to know that he has your back as much as Aurianna, Felix and the others. 

As for your replying to me as a watchperson rather than as family; I will admit that it did irk me that you didn’t seem to understand that I wasn’t looking for an oral report of the situation. However, given that we work together in a semi-official capacity most of the time at the moment, I acknowledge the fact that the professional and the personal have become inevitably intertwined in our interactions with one another. I can only hope that, once all of this is over, we can begin to untangle them. I’ve never really enjoyed having to interact with you, of all people, in such an official capacity and would much prefer to return to a more personable relationship.

For now, I can only apologise for my behaviour following the attack at the Plot Hook. I make no excuses for what I said and did, and can only promise that I will try to be better in future. I love you so much and I do not want to jeopardise our relationship for the sake of my own fears.

I hope we can have a chance to talk things out in person soon, and that we can get through a dinner or quiet drink without getting attacked in the middle of it. 

Love always,

Selene.

#aquadestinyswriting #titan fighting fantasy #the wizard's tale #selene frigidwake #elowyn o'toreguarde

[aquadestinyswriting]

Writing Snippet

I've found a new song to put on the playlist for The Wizard's Tale and it is awesome and has inspired these tiny little snippets for stories that take place while Selene and Edwin are off "on holiday" away from Toreguarde.

Tagging in @druidx, @sparrow-orion-writes and @blind-the-winds because I know you guys are gonna love these.

Selene's frantic gaze snapped to a covered cart surrounded by Duregar as she heard the frantic, squeaking cry of the little weasel man she'd spent the last hour trying to find, "Let me go, I've done nothing wrong!" he yelled as two of the stout, ashen figures dragged him towards the cart. One of the Duregar back handed the smaller figure, "Shut yer trap!" he snapped, hoisting the unfortunate hengeyokai up, only to drop him again as a ball of fire exploded at his feet. Selene glared at the Duregar, a second Fireball already seething in her hand, "I suggest letting the little fellow go before I lose my temper." she stated smoothly letting the Fireball flare a little for effect.

Edwin smiled as Selene opened the front door of the tower. The last time he had visited the place, it had been under far grimmer circumstances. He watched as Selene let Jin walk into the bottom floor ahead of her, his smile widening at the look of wonder on the hengeyokai's face. "This... this is amazing!" the weasel-shaped wizard squealed. He spun back to look at Selene, "You're sure I can-?" Selene grinned at him, "Of course." she stated, cutting off his question, "Just mind the furniture, they're going to be a little overexcited to see someone new." she warned him. Jin didn't hesitate any longer, already skittering inside and happily greeting the footstool as it scampered up to him as though he'd always known it.

#aquadestinyswriting #writing snippets #the wizard's tale #selene frigidwake #edwin goodwin #jin skittersnout

[aquadestinyswriting]

🍩 for the ask game! For tales of the librarian? Though of you prefer a different one that's fun too.

@duckingwriting

Hi Duck, thanks for the ask, sorry it's taken so long to get back to you.

🍩 [Donut] What's the weirdest thing someone eats in your WIP? What's the best thing?

Hmm, this is a tough one as I don't really talk much about what people eat in the Tales of the Librarian series. I honestly don't think there's anything too weird that anyone would eat, though I think eating something that was made by a squiggly-diddle-fied pot or pan or something would be very weird indeed (there's probably some sort of aftertaste that is best not to think about too hard when you consider what squiggly diddles do.... I'll make a worldbuilding post about those so everyone can have some sort of context for this part of the answer. Be prepared to be either thoroughly weirded out or mildly disgusted).

As for the best thing anyone eats; I think that's probably the custard pies made by the Toreguarde council chambers resident cook. Apparently the recipe is an old family one and there's some sort of secret ingredient involved that Martha refuses to share any information about. One of her apprentices makes a really nice lamb stew that all the council members constantly rave about. Sadly Selene doesn't get to eat that very often given how often Schreiber wants to get any Triumverate meetings over and done with as quickly as possible, so there's rarely any time for actual meals. Selene will confess to being a bit jealous of the members of the council that work in the chambers full time due to this.

#writeblr ask games #answered ask #titan fighting fantasy #selene frigidwake #reginald schreiber

[aquadestinyswriting]

Storyteller Saturday

It's been a few weeks, and I apologise, but I'm back again. Onto this week's question

Does your main OC have a family still in their lives? If they do, what is that relationship like? If not, what happened?

As usual, anyone is free to answer, but tags are below

Tagging: @druidx, @asher-orion-writes, @homesteadchronicles, @warriorbookworm, @mariahwritesstuff, @writeblrsupport, @ashirisu, @thesorcerersapprentice, @blind-the-winds

My own answer is below the cut to save peoples' dashes.

Selene: she has been estranged from her family for a very long time even before the events that led to her going off adventuring. She went off with Yastromo to apprentice as a wizard at the age of 10 years old, and attempted to stay in contact for the first year or two through letters. Things were alright for the first few months, but then she stopped getting letters back for a few months before finally getting on on her 12th birthday asking her not to contact them again.

There was no reason given, though Selene suspects it might have had something to do with the activities of some necromancer or other in the area around where her family lived. Whether or not her family had been caught up in anything to do with it, she'll never know, but it's likely that at least one member of the family was killed, leading to the initial lack of communication, then the request to cut off contact.

Meredith: Amazingly, Merri's entire family survived the absolute BS that was thrown at Fangthane throughout the entire Destiny's New Servants campaign. The family is not without their losses, Merri lost two older brothers during the Demon War and her uncle, Snorri, was very lucky to have lived to be allowed to come back to the mountain once the war was over.

Throughout the latter half of the Destiny's New Servants campaign, Meredith expended a lot of time and energy to make sure she didn't lose anyone else to the renewed BS that was thrown at Fangthane, and made sure her family were among the first to leave the mountain at the first sign of the civil war kicking off. She actually requisitioned a group of about three Moradhir paladins and two clerics she trusted to accompany them to Vynheim because she knew that going with them would just put them in more danger and elected to stay behind for as long as possible to try and sort things out.

#storyteller saturday #writeblr community #writeblr open asks #sts #titan fighting fantasy #selene frigidwake #meredith gruksdottir

[aquadestinyswriting]

To Heal A Broken Soul: Epilogue -Confessions of a Troubled Heart

Summary: Selene and Edwin finally have a heart to heart about what happened three days ago.

Words: 1,705

Warnings: None. Fluffy fluff is extremely fluffy.

Tag list (dm to +/-): @druidx, @sparrow-orion-writes , @homesteadchronicles, @warriorbookworm, @mariahwritesstuff, @ashirisu , @thesorcerersapprentice , @blind-the-winds , @philosophika , @the-down-upside-finch

Notes: I did a re-write of the original version, as I felt that one didn't flow quite the way I wanted it to following the revisions I've made to the earlier chapters.

It was two whole days after her Resurrection before Selene could even stay awake long enough to have more than a few bites of food. Not that Edwin had been any better; the poor man had also spent what time he hadn’t been fretting over her dozing in a chair next to her bed. Selene grunted as she pulled herself up to sitting, while she was still tired and achy she was now too awake to want to just lie and listen to the goings on of the world outside. She sat still for a moment, gasping from the exertion. 

~Don’t go getting any stupid ideas. Edwin’s only dozing.~ Chrackle’s voice stated in her head. Selene glared up at the magpie sitting on top of one of the posts of her bed,

~I’m not, but I am now awake and aware enough to get bored.~ she retorted, ~But since you’re going to be a little tattle-tale, why don’t you go grab the book I want while I create enough light to read by?~ she suggested. 

~But it’s too big for me to carry!~ Chrackle whined, gently clacking his beak to emphasise his annoyance. Selene snorted,

~Well, go find someone to bother to get it for me then, since I’m not allowed to leave this damn bed!~

“Well, you must be feeling better if you’re bickering with Chrackle, even if I can’t hear it.” Edwin’s voice suddenly stated, causing Selene’s gaze to snap to the cleric. Edwin stretched as he looked between magpie and familiar, “Let me guess, you need something and Chrackle either can’t or doesn’t want to get it for you?” he queried. Selene felt herself flushing as she took in Edwin’s rumpled hair and vestments,

“Something like that.” she muttered. Tearing her gaze away and looking out at the rest of her room instead, “I’m sorry if we woke you.”

Edwin shook his head and stood up, 

“You didn’t, I was on the verge of waking up anyway. Which book was it?” he asked. Selene looked back at him, huffing a half-irritated sigh,

“Calibrian’s Treatise on Inter-Planar Relationships, it’s the one I was trying to continue reading the other day.” she replied. Edwin nodded and made his way across towards the bookcase near the fireplace to find the book in question. Selene watched him for a moment or two before, before shaking back the sleeves of her nightdress and muttering an incantation under her breath. 

Edwin’s head snapped up at the sound of a sharp hiss. He looked in the direction the sound had come from just in time to see a Light spell flicker and die and Selene clench her fists. He immediately rushed over and sat on the edge of the bed,

“Selene! Are you alright?” he asked, looking the woman over to make sure there were no signs of spidering. Selene, who had scrunched her eyes closed, nodded,

“I’m alright.” she murmured, wheezing, “Fingers just sting a bit is all.” 

Edwin took a hold of Selene’s hands and coaxed them open, inspecting the slender fingers. The ends were a bit red, but otherwise seemed to be unharmed. He looked up at Selene’s face, which was more relaxed, but still pinched a little in pain. He gently rubbed the fingers in his hands and muttered a prayer. A soft green light sunk into the wizard’s hands, and he finally felt Selene relax completely. 

“What happened?” Edwin asked as his Cure spell completed. Selene hung her head, avoiding Edwin’s gaze,

“I figured that I’d get a Light spell going so I could read more easily. Save you the hassle of fiddling with the lamps.” she muttered. Edwin gingerly squeezed Selene’s hands,

“I don’t mind doing whatever it is you need, Sel.” he said quietly, “You don’t have to push yourself to get back to normal as soon as possible.” 

Selene raised her head again, her eyes brimming and lip trembling,

“You don’t get it, Edwin. A Light spell is one of the most simple cantrips to cast. If I can’t manage even that –” 

“Selene, you died not three days ago. You need to allow yourself a chance to recover from that.” 

“But what if – “

Edwin gripped Selene’s hands more tightly, causing her to stumble to a stop. He gently tilted her head so she was looking at him more directly,

“Selene, you need to relax.” he told her, his voice soft, “Stressing yourself out like this is only going to make you relapse, and I don’t want to go through that again.”

Selene’s throat constricted painfully. Dim memories of his voice confessing his love for her flitted through her head, making her heart ache. Had he truly meant what he said?

~You know, for being as intelligent as you are, you’re pretty damn clueless.~ Chrackle’s voice suddenly piped up. Selene glared at her familiar, who was cleaning his beak on the sheets at the foot of the bed.

~And what’s that supposed to mean?!~ she snapped mentally. She felt Chrackle roll his eyes,

~Mistress, the man has been besotted with you since you came to Fangthane about the God Clay. I think he meant what he said.~ the magpie sighed. He ruffled his feathers and cocked his head in Edwin’s direction, ~The question is, do you love him back?~ 

Selene flicked her gaze back to Edwin, who was watching her calmly. Her heart skipped a little as she took in the laughter lines around his eyes, the grey streak that had started growing into his beard, the quiet smile on his lips that dimpled his cheeks ever so slightly. Every last detail took her already short breath away. Add in the fact that he had never once let her down despite all her best efforts to push him away since he had arrived in Toreguarde and – Of course she loved him. More than anything else in this world. But could she really allow herself to? Especially since there was every possibility that either of them could die tomorrow?

“Then you make the most of the time you have.” Greg’s voice echoed in her head. All the other Gods damn it! 

Edwin’s calm expression pinched into one of worry as he noticed a flush start to creep up Selene’s cheeks as she stared at him. His heart leapt into his throat,

“Sel, are you alright. Don’t tell me you’re –” he was cut off as Selene waved a hand,

“No, no I’m fine. It’s just –” Selene quickly ducked her head so Edwin couldn’t see the sheer embarrassment on her face, “Cur ita velim Durus.” she hissed in Draconic. She felt Chrackle’s smug amusement as he fluttered over to her headboard. She sent him a mental glare as she struggled to come up with the words that could convey to Edwin what she was thinking, never mind feeling.

Edwin, swallowed down his initial burst of fear, replacing it with a worried sense of confusion. He squeezed Selene’s hands again,

“Alright, breathe.” he said as calmly as he could manage on hearing the wheeze in the wizard’s chest. He waited until Selene actually took a deeper breath than the ones she’d been taking, “What’s the matter?” he asked. 

Selene glanced up at the cleric, still struggling to work out how to tell him what she’d heard and how she felt. She felt Chrackle shove her mentally,

~Just tell him the truth! You’ve both spent long enough talking past one another already!~ He squawked in her head. Selene sent her familiar a mental glare before finally lifting her head and looking to the window on her left side,

“I heard you, you know.” she said quietly, “When you were trying to – well, you know.”

Edwin’s eyes widened and he instinctively pulled away a little, his heart skipping wildly,

“You – You did?” he squeaked, feeling his cheeks and ears begin to burn. Selene bit her lip, looking down at her bedsheets, even as she shifted so she would be facing him directly. She took in a shaky breath,

“That’s why I decided to come back. I didn’t want to leave this world before telling you that I – I love you too.” she admitted her voice quiet, embarrassed. 

Edwin simply stared at Selene. Had she just –? He was awake, right? He hadn’t dozed off again once he’d sat down? He felt Selene grip at his hand nervously. Ok, so definitely awake. Which meant –

Edwin’s face split into a huge smile, his heart soaring as he breathed out a laugh,

“Galana save us, we’re both such fools.” he chuckled, reaching out and tucking a strand of curled, auburn hair behind Selene’s ear before taking out his Holy Symbol and beaming at it, “I’m guessing that’s why She even let me make the attempt even after I’d expended everything She had to give.” he added, his throat constricting with emotion. 

Selene shook her head,

“I’m not even going to get into that.” she murmured, “However I do believe I owe you several dozen apologies. At least according to Chrackle. She added, glaring at her familiar, who simply cackled at her, while crowing smugly in her head. Edwin gently forced her to look at him again,

“Selene, you have nothing to apologise for.” he said softly, “Feelings are hard and strange and exceedingly difficult to deal with at the best of times. I was quite content to know my own heart even if my feelings for you weren’t reciprocated.” he told her. “I am, however, beyond happy to know that they are.” 

Selene swallowed thickly, her heart felt ready to burst and she felt warmer than she had in what felt like an age. She suddenly leaned forward and hugged the cleric, burying her face into the space between his shoulder and neck,

“Thank you.” she said, her voice muffled. Edwin didn’t say anything as he wrapped his arms around Selene’s slender frame and returned the hug. Chrackle croaked happily as he felt his mistress’ joy, happiness and contentment, fluttering over to the nest he’d started making in the nearby hatstand and quietly closing off the telepath connection with Selene. Now that the matter had finally been settled, he could safely leave her in Edwin’s hands. At least for the time being.

#aquadestinyswriting #titan fighting fantasy #the wizard's tale #to heal a broken soul #selene frigidwake #edwin goodwin #chrackle #romantic shipping #selene/edwin

[aquadestinyswriting]

The Portal Dilemma

Summary: Selene and Edwin receive a letter that has them scratching their heads at first, only to realise that it's an invitation back to Fangthane. Sadly, said invitation comes with some caveats that neither are too happy about.

Words: 923

Tags: @druidx @homesteadchronicles @flashfictionfridayofficial @sparrow-orion-writes-orion-writes,@warriorbookworm, @odysseywritings, @blind-the-winds, @thesorcerersapprentice,@writeblrcafe, @ashiru, @writeblrcafe

Warnings: None

Notes: For Flash Fiction Friday's 'Portal Fiction' prompt. Set a few months after the end of the Destiny's New Servants campaign.

Toreguarde lay in partial ruin. The area around where the wizard's tower had once stood was still buried under tens of feet of hardened ash and volcanic rubble, but the cleanup was likely to take at least another half year to be completed anyway. The rest of the city, however, was well on its way to being restored. Life was finally beginning to return to some sort of normality.

Edwin turned the letter he'd just been handed by the courier over in his hands, wondering why he and Selene would be receiving a letter from the Cathedral of Kherillim in Fangthane, of all places. He walked into the kitchen of the home he now shared with the former Grand Magus,

"Do we know anyone that works in the cathedral in Fangthane?" He asked, placing the unopened letter on the table in front of Selene, who was blearily sipping on a fresh mug of bloc coffee. The wizard blinked, picking up the heavy parchment. After a long moment, she slowly nodded,

"We do." She murmured slowly, "But why on Titan's green earth is Meredith writing to us and not Elowyn?" She asked, making sure that the envelope did indeed have their names on it. Edwin shrugged,

"Only one way to find out." He said, gesturing at the letter. Selene cracked the seal, pulled out the parchment inside and read the message aloud for Edwin's benefit;

Dear Abouna Goodwin and Head Librarian Frigidwake,

I hope this message finds you both well and that repairs to the damage that Toreguarde received during Ragnarok are being swiftly repaired.

I understand that you are both close friends of Moradin's Champion, Dar Ivan Jaegersson, so it will please you to hear that word has reached the Cathedral of his return to Mechanus following the events of Ragnarok. While I know that Toreguarde is still officially written into the Fangthane Book of Grudges, I'm writing to extend you both a personal invitation back to the mount so that he may be reunited with both his family and your good selves. Please do feel free to drag Dar Ivan back to Toreguarde to pay off his Plot Hook bar tab during his visit, I'm sure Orrock will be more than happy to finally have it settled.

I am obligated to inform you that the invitation is conditional. His Majesty and several remaining members of the High Council wish to ask you both some questions regarding the rooms you found beneath the Cathedral upon returning from Mechanus the first time. While Dar Alexis did inform the Council of some of what was down there, the Cathedral feels that having the opinion of more learned individuals who were also present would be for the benefit of the stability of the Church. 

Please inform me if you wish to accept the invitation at your earliest convenience via a Scry. I look forward to hearing from you.

Best wishes 

High Inquisitor Meredith Bloodvein.

P.S Please return the enclosed ring to Snotgrut. If he wants to keep tabs on me, he needs to do it the hard way!

Selene looked up at Edwin, torn between elation and trepidation,

"What do you think?" She asked, "On the one hand I'd love nothing more than to actually catch up with Ivan and meet this family of his. On the other…" she trailed off with an uncertain noise in her throat. Edwin nodded, running a hand over his beard,

"No, I can't say I'm very keen on being interrogated about the portal and the adjacent areas either." He admitted, "Still, the Council is aware of their existence, perhaps our perspectives will help settle matters regarding the implications for good." He suggested. "It might at least prevent another Firetome from taking advantage of any lingering uncertainties." He added. Selene sighed,

"I suppose." She murmured, "I'll see what extra information I can dig up about the planes and their relationship with each other. I can't answer anything about the theology, and I'm not about to try, but that… projection did look similar enough to diagrams I've seen elsewhere of the outer planes." 

"Let me guess, you're only in so you drag Ivan back here by the ear to pay off that bar tab aren't you?" Edwin chuckled. Selene threw up a hand in exasperation,

"If he hadn't gone sauntering off to bloody Mechanus instead of going to Fangthane then I wouldn't have to!" She snapped, "Orrock's been hanging that tab over my head for nearly a decade, I think Mr Moradin's Champion owes me that much." She ranted. Edwin nodded patiently, walked around the table, planted a kiss on Selene's cheek and teased the letter from her grasp,

"Alright, well why don't you return Snotgrut's ring to him along with the High Inquisitor's implied threats while I get that Scry sorted out." he said, "Then we can discuss what we can, or want to, tell the Fangthane Council about the portal rooms."

Selene rolled her eyes but shrugged,

"Alright, fine. I doubt Snotgrut will actually care very much about any threats Meredith wants to send him, but it'll give me something to do." She agreed. The wizard held out her hand, using a Mage Hand to grab her staff and cloak before Teleporting out of the kitchen with a puff of sulphurous smoke. Edwin huffed an annoyed sigh, waving the smoke out of his face,

"New house rule: no teleporting from the kitchen table." He muttered before gathering up the abandoned dishes and putting Selene's untouched breakfast in the pantry.

#aquadestinyswriting #flash fiction friday #titan fighting fantasy #tales of the librarian #selene frigidwake #edwin goodwin #writeblrcafe

[aquadestinyswriting]

Picrew Tag games

I was tagged by the lovely @druidx for this one. As a mirror to hers, I'll go ahead and do Selene for mine.

No Pressure Tags: @blind-the-winds, @mariahwritesstuff, @sparrow-orion-writes, @ashirisu and anyone else that fancies taking part.

This first one is from this generator. I couldn't quite get exactly what I wanted, but I picked reds for all the horrible stuff she's been through so far, with blue picking out the primary colour of Toreguarde as well as tempering the good with the bad. The flower crown is indicative of the fact that she did finally overcome the tragedies of her past and found peace and love

I also figured I'd do this one as well. This is a much more casual Selene.

#writeblr tag games #picrew tag games #titan fighting fantasy #selene frigidwake

[aquadestinyswriting]

Last Line and WIP Wed... Friday

Got tagged for the Last Line game by @blind-the-winds and WIP Wednesday by @sparrow-orion-writes. Figured I'd combine them ages later since I've been taking a short break from writing most of this week. Have what I managed to get done before work this morning, which is a snippet of a new one shot for The Wizard's Tale.

Tagging: @druidx, @warriorbookworm, @mariahwritesstuff, @ashirisu, @philosophika, @the-down-upside-finch

Chrackle’s head snapped up, his eyes pinning as he scanned the large room that was his mistress’ office. He shook out his feathers as he noticed the pause in the scratching of Selene’s quill, ~What’s the matter Chrackle?~ the wizard’s voice asked in his head, her mental voice wary. The magpie croaked softly as he fluttered over to one of the many bookcases lining the wall opposite the large window, ~Not sure. Felt a ripple.~ he paused as he cocked his head to one side, trying to sense where the ripple in the weave had come from. There it was again, but it had moved. He swivelled his head towards the bookcase nearest the door, gently pulling some magic from Selene as he cast Detect Magic to see if that made finding the disturbance easier.  Selene gently put her quill down and pushed her glasses up her nose, eyes narrowing behind them. Whatever this ripple was, it was too small to be anything too threatening. That, however, didn’t discount the use of some sort of cantrip designed to distract her attention away from something more malevolent.

#writeblr tag games #aquadestinyswriting #the wizard's tale #selene frigidwake #chrackle #last line tag #wip wednesday

[aquadestinyswriting]

'Shipping thoughts

tagging: @druidx, @sparrow-orion-writes , @blind-the-winds because I know you guys live for this drama.

Edit: tagging in @philosophika as well

I've been re-reading through the writing I've done for 'The Wizard's Tale' and have been listening to the playlist I made for it. Gods damn I am obsessed with Edwin's pining after Selene. The man could not be more obvious if he tried. And yet. Because Selene is the most AroAce person in the existence of Titan, she is (seemingly) totally oblivious to all of it.

Even when she has Chrackle dropping hints in her head pretty much from the minute Edwin arrives in Toreguarde, somehow Selene insists that he's just making up for not being in regular contact for almost ten years.

Slightly spoilery stuff under the cut

I mean, I know Selene has a lot on her plate by that point. She's just had to watch her niece fight off one evil dark wizard and his army and has just sent her off to go deal with a problem that Selene feels she should be dealing with personally. Not to mention the fact that Toreguarde could be going to actual war with Fangthane at any minute. But in all honesty? I think by that point, it's become wilful ignorance. Or just a stubborn refusal to acknowledge her own feelings on the matter.

I mean, think about it. Schreiber has been doing everything in his power to 'gently encourage' those remaining Heroes of Toreguarde to leave the city.* Selene has been trying to fight him on this, but can't get rid of him herself. Egrim, who was a far more passive man when it came to getting involved in the politics of Toreguarde, has just been replaced by Edwin. A man that is much more proactive and willing to speak his mind. Selene knows that Schreiber is likely to become pretty damn dangerous if he feels cornered. If Schreiber were to find out that the new Abouna of Galana and the Grand Magus had feelings for one another, then, oh boy, he is definitely going to use that against both of them.

Best case if that happened? Both Edwin and Selene are forced to leave Toreguarde without permission (thereby breaking the Edict) and leave it defenceless while Schreiber works to put his preferred people in charge of the wizard's tower. Worst case? Schreiber arranges to have one or both of them killed, most likely by members of the Cabal so that he doesn't have to get his own hands dirty. Then Schreiber puts his preferred people in charge of the wizard's tower. Either way, Toreguarde is done for.

So Selene does the only thing she thinks is sensible: pretends that she doesn't notice Edwin being a very persistent lost little puppy around her and stamps down her own burgeoning feelings for him because, of course, he's the last friend she has and he needs protecting at all costs. Besides, surely anyone would feel the same about their closest friends, right? (she's so aro, she doesn't even realise that what's she's feeling is romantic love, even when Chrackle is basically spelling it out for her in every last way he can. The poor bird has the patience of a bloody saint for having to deal with that. I'm surprised he doesn't go insane, honestly).

It does not help that Edwin refuses to actually, you know, tell Selene that he's caught feelings for her at any point throughout all of this. Probably because he's just as painfully aware that doing so could put them both in jeopardy. Not to mention the crushing guilt he's feeling over not being able to tell Selene what happened with Alexis (even though, once he arrives in Toreguarde, he has every opportunity to, because he doesn't have the threat of being kicked out of Fangthane hanging over his head any more). Edwin may be a lot more emotionally intelligent than Selene but.... gods, he is a complete dumbass about this.

Seriously, neither of them are being smart about any of this. And I love it! I hate it just as much, but the drama is just too delicious to not have them both be dumbasses that are somehow constantly talking past each other until the incident happens.

*Note: Schreiber had no involvement in Alexis leaving. He was just happy that she, apparently, did it on her own volition instead. Publicly though, he rips Selene to shreds in front of the rest of the Council for "letting" her go, because why waste the opportunity?

#aqua's rambles #titan fighting fantasy #edwin goodwin #selene frigidwake #edwin/selene #writing meta