SOMEONE DRAW ANGRY GNOME ASTARION N O W đ«
Shadowheart - Githyanki (pretends she is unaffected, but is actually screaming internally and that close to losing it)
Lae'zel - Human (utterly disgusted at THE NOSE)
Gale - High Elf (the orb is still there, but his glorious beard isn't)
Wyll - Drow (the very drow Baldurian romance novels want them to be, call him Rizz't. but also give him a hug because the poor man is getting tired of all these uncalled transformations)
Astarion - Gnome (inconsolable. defeated. grieving. refuses to leave his tent. the "you laugh you lose your femoral artery" challenge)
Karlach - Dragonborn (smoking hot, soldier!)
Halsin - Halfling (the most ripped, beefiest halfling you've ever seen, excited about the new perspective. climbing Mt. Halsin is not an option, but people want him to climb them now)
Something 2 consider
"This person has a secret onlyfans!" "This artist does NSFW commissions!" "This author writes porn on the side!" I cannot begin to tell you how swag and awesome that is.
Me: *passing by Caroline and hands her one of the Horseradishes I happen to be carrying atm*
Caroline, for some reason:
. . . how the flip am I supposed to respond to that.
Hat mouse deserves nothing but the best and we should NOT impede on his business practices. He deserves the extra gold yes I will die on this hill
inflation hitting hard in the valley
I'm back đ
Here's chapter one! The prologue has been heavily edited, up to chapter five lightly edited. So please be nice with all the grammatical errors if you find them! (Also feel free to point them out; I've obviously missed them as of this far lol, much appreciated!) Thinking of maybe doing a character post regarding the main characters you meet here, Oryn and May.
tw: mentions of death and funerals/burial, grief, blood
âą
âą
âą
Our dearest Oryn,
Our faith is strong. Knowing itâs unorthodox means nothing; our souls donât fear the plaguing nags of Chaos any longer. You canât harbor any doubts as to where we will go once our souls leave our bodies: know they will all find their homes with the Gods. You neednât waste your breath praying for us.
Knowing you, this cabin will soon find itself empty. The home we built together will be barren. Itâs okayâyou can go. We trust you. But remember who you are. Remember who we raised you to be. Please, for the love of all that is good and holy, remember what we taught you. Youâre too smart for the world, so be prepared for the way theyâll treat you. It wonât be kind. But donât let that discourage you. Know that here, in the forest, there is always our home waiting for you to return. Let it be your haven.
There are no others like you. You know what the world does to the things itâs never seen. Donât go looking for answers in places where none will be found, even when it all becomes too enticing. That lure, that pull at your soul, itâs Natural Chaos slowly wrapping you in its snare. Donât let it.
Youâve been loved, and in turn loved us. If youâre going to take anything into the world with you, let it be that.
Maureen, Elisa, Starla
â
Ch. 1
It seemed like mere moments, yet the two of them sat there for hours. As the sun bathed the sky in its hues of oranges and reds and purples and pinks, they sat in front of the three fresh graves in silence. Oryn turned the unlit torch over in their hands. The forest wasnât mourning; it was empty. The life that the three of them had built here didnât stop with Oryn or what they gave May; they kept the forest here full of purpose. Without them, it was like every living being knew that Oryn wouldnât stay, so they didnât need to, either. Once they left, theyâd have nothing to protect anymore.
May wanted to give Oryn all the time they needed but didnât know how time worked for them. She didnât know how time worked for any of them; everything she seemed to learn about the three women they were about to bury only unearthed more questions that she never had the nerve to ask.
As the sun made its final dip over the horizon, Oryn stood, lighting the torch. May didnât have the chance to stand before they dropped it in the first graveâMaureenâs.
The flames roared to life, like they knew they were releasing a soul to the Waters and Winds. Lighting two more torches, Elisa and Starla joined her.
May shuffled where she stood, clearing her throat. âDid they want us to perform any⊠rites? Or say any prayers?â
Oryn took their time to respond, making sure May understood their conviction. As a solitary tear ran down their cheek, they barked, âNo.â
âYou need time,â May nodded.
âNo,â Oryn said. âLet them burn and fill in the graves. Then, we go.â
They stood their long after dusk, letting the flames turn to ash before filling the graves they sat in. Amongst the flowers and herbs and fruit trees would be three women who defiled every god in the name of building a home.
The silence surrounding them wasnât one that bode dread; it was like the subtle breath of your lover lying next to you as you slept. The forest was letting them sleep in peace.
As May untied her horse from the post near the hut that was both Orynâs home and prison, she could hear the wood sigh with relief.
They took their time leaving the forest, knowing they wouldnât be back any time soon. The footpaths seemed to bleed into the plant life surrounding them, slowly rotting the roots and bushes into dust. It was a slow decay, the trees slowly dropping their leaves and petrifying within the few hours of travel it took for them to reach the forestsâ edge.
âYou should know,â Oryn said, clearing their throat as the steed took itsâ final step from the forest into the field, âI donât sleep well.â
As the crackle of the final trees solidifying rang behind them, May turned over her shoulder. âAnd by that you mean?â
âI talk sometimes,â they started, âand other times Iâve broken a few things.â
âIn your sleep?â May asked, Oryn nodding a bit. âShould be fine. Youâll be on the other end of the manor so Iâm sure itâll be no bother. And thereâs not much in the room to break, anyway. Iâll let the guards know not to worry if they hear you mumbling.â
âGuards?â
âJust a few,â May started. âThey patrol the manor at night. Since I started commanding the New GuardâŠâ she trailed off, her jaw tightening. âItâs just better to be safe.â
Oryn nodded, taking the two flasks from the small bag they carried. âWe should drink these before we make it into town,â they said, reaching their worn hand over Mayâs shoulder and handing her one.
May slowed their horse, coming to a stop on the path in the lush field. Here, all the living things were normal, singing and chirping and fleeting from one patch of grass to another. She took the flask, holding it up to the moon to see the cloudy brown liquid inside. Taking a deep breath, she smelt something that took her back to the puddles of blood staining the manorâs floor.
Her hands started to shake, the brass ring she wore clinking against the flask. âHow many times can someone take this?â she struggled, her throat and tongue contorting as each word barely made it from her mouth.
Oryn sighed, running a hand through their braids. âI know,â they said, downing their own concoction and gagging on the aftertaste. âItâs safe. It wonât break what youâve built here.â
May sat up straighter, her free hand tightening around the reigns. âYou know?â
âI know they gave this to you before,â Oryn stated, âand I know it worked. Drink it again and itâll work now, too.â
May hesitated.
âIâm Oryn,â they started, their voice flowing freely and with a quality anyone would strain to hear. They starting listing prices for goods they didnât know anything about, naming duchyâs they didnât know existed and comparing them to men theyâve never heard of.
May wasnât concerned if it would work. The hair stood on the back of her neck as the thoughts of the broken bottle and pounding feet ran through her mind; the gold sitting in the cove dug underneath the stairs in the manor by her grandfather. There were things worth killing over.
She put the flask to her lips, letting the taste of tar slide down the back of her throat.
âGood!â Oryn chuckled, a low hum droning in Mayâs ear. She gagged on the taste and dropped the flask, Oryn reaching around her to tug the reigns. âItâs sealed now. But you know that already.â
-
The cracking of wood rendering itself to splinters rang down the hall, sending another shiver down Alecâs spine. He turned to his lieutenant, looking up at him the way small boys do.
âDutchess said not to worry,â he started, a yawn creeping from the back of his throat. âBesides,â he sighed, âwe have to stay alert for real threats.â
Glass shattered, followed by a metallic grating that could only be a nail ripping itself across the stone walls. A deep hum started creeping its way up the base of Alecâs neck.
âBut, sir,â he said, his brows furrowing. âSomethings not right.â
His lieutenant rubbed his temples before conceding, nodding at Alec and starting down the hall towards Orynâs bedchambers. Alec followed in his wake, his falchion gripped the way he was taught.
Reaching the door, Alec stepped forward when he was gestured to and slowly grabbed the knob. The soft click as he slowly started to turn the handle made a bead of sweat start dripping down his back, the low drone of humming building pressure in the back of his skull. But, after a point, the handle wouldnât budge.
âLocked,â he mumbled to himself, turning back to his superior. âWe shouââ
Alec was flung back down the hall, the shreds of door shielding his front half from whatever came barreling down onto his Lieutenant. He couldnât see it, but Alec heard the snapping and creaking of flesh tearing from bone mixed with the screams and pleas of his superior, which were cut short by a quick pop of his head. His gray brain matter hit the wood Alec was shrouding behind.
There were footsteps hitting the ground immediately heard down the hall, quickly running to the source of the commotion. As Alec trembled and tried to remember how to breathe, another manâs hand was yanking him up from the ground and pulling him back down the hall.
The beast was of no shape that any of them had ever seen. In a matter of moments, more guards were thrown back against the walls, the demonâs shrieking echoing off the stone. If anyone in the manor happened to still be asleep, they werenât now.
As one guard after another went with spear after falchion, their meaningless cuts and stabs were rendered useless. As the thick, opaque blood started seeping from the gashes, the skin would mend itself, transforming itself into something new.
The hulking mass of meat and bone would grind, creak, and snap as its limbs changed, its agonizing cries of pain accompanying the transformations. The skin would contort itself, stretching and thinning to contain everything within.
May came barreling from her quarters, untied robes messily hanging over her old nightwear, sword brandished and glowing in the dim light. With a look of determination on her faceâthe one her men always looked toâshe barked out an order and shouted the command calling the bulk of the guard to her back. As the echo of Mayâs voice started bouncing off the cold walls, a rush of wind flew through an open parapet, the torches amongst the walls hissing into darkness. The soft sigh of relief amongst the darkness turned into a quiet sobbing.
âIâveâŠâ there was a soft shuffling of skin on stone, a hiccup of a cry emanating down the hall.
handing you all a quick silly thing đ„ș
Screaming crying and throwing up this man deserved BETTER đ
One thing that originally struck me as odd was how young Finnick acted in CF and MJ whenever he was being authentic, considering he was 24, as in seven whole years older than Katniss and Peeta. Then I realized that the reason he was still acting like a teen, basically, was because he had probably gotten stuck mentally at the age of 15-16, when he first started getting trafficked by Snow. He was still a child when he was pimped out, and since then he had very little time or opportunity to be real, perhaps some stolen days with Annie and Mags. Aside from that, his life was hardly his own. His trauma always kept him trapped in adolescence.
(Mr. Qi used to be a farmer theory is used)