Hopeful. Today was supposed to be a hopeful day.
After a long seclusion in training and reaching the Greater Marshal Exalt realm, it was finally time for Fallen Heaven to open. Beforehand, her leader, Ollanar, personally invited her to his throne room, a rare summon for one of her stature. ...
2024-03-03 01:41:10 +0000 UTC View PostMarcus hurriedly raised his arms in a cross-block, securing the ribs and vital organs. Black scales grew and thickened into the densest armor. In an instant, fast as lightning, a fist swung fiercely, driving the brass knuckles it wore into the scales, breaking apart several layers like brittle cl...
2024-03-02 05:48:20 +0000 UTC View PostAs Oscar sat, hearing Metures's voice sound more urgent and demanding, he wheeled for the living, tossing away the book, which landed on the floor with a loud thunk, pages sprawling out from the cover. He nearly lost control, having put too much force onto the wheels, spinning them wildly, almost...
2024-03-01 05:36:07 +0000 UTC View PostThere was a sound of shuffling as Carcoatl turned a quarter-way to face him, a few pebbles tossed away by his dragged robes, drumming sharp and clear before waning into echoes along the mountain's slope. Oscar didn't respond, watching the two suns leaving high noon and beginning their long trek t...
2024-02-29 04:07:42 +0000 UTC View Post"I've always challenged how the Blue Ocean Pavilion had been organized, but suddenly changing the traditions would rile up all the previous and current members," Remulus formed a bubble around them and flew out of the balcony, dragging Oscar and Avril along for the ride. "First and foremost, I ha...
2024-02-28 05:04:11 +0000 UTC View PostOscar opened his eyes, having finished communicating with Erden, who chose to remain in the Lands of Zeret, a shame but understandable. He sat in his wheelchair, wearing a fine dress shirt under a brown vest, paired off by a set of black pants, Isaac's usual garments. Harsh waves crashed on the r...
2024-02-27 03:45:39 +0000 UTC View PostFour roads of long treks of white stairs descended from four sides of the crater, leading to the four palaces closest to his volcano. Millions of people traveled up, down, side to side, along these paths, nothing but a mass of black dots from his view. Carcoatl saw it all, feeling every step on t...
2024-02-26 05:17:43 +0000 UTC View PostSilence befell them. Ollanar wheezed and coughed for a moment, a flicker of weakness flashing across those gentle pupils, but as fast as they emerged, so too did they vanish, gone in a blink. He poured the wine through the gap in his mask, gulped the entire chalice dry, and dripped beads of wine ...
2024-02-25 03:24:20 +0000 UTC View Post"It is heartening to see one so devoted and caring. Truly, he is blessed. I come in peace and to bring news." A low yet magnetic soft voice filled the room, reaching Oscar behind the partly opened door. Just from the gentleness in the tone, Oscar envisioned a grass field under gentle sunlight, a ...
2024-02-23 20:54:31 +0000 UTC View PostOutside the door, the stranger stomped into the house, every step shaking the wooden floor to its foundations as if thousands of pounds had been concentrated in that figure. He matched Oscar's height, well over six feet, and not-so-burly frame, a simple glimpse past his white sleeves revealing de...
2024-02-23 05:28:06 +0000 UTC View PostAvril was very happy. She shuffled in the bed, dreaming in blissful peace. Despite being asleep, she knew her arms held onto Oscar and counted the beating of his heart as her head rested on his chest. His soft breathing rose and fell in a hypnotizing rhythm. She exhaled when he inhaled and inhale...
2024-02-22 02:15:39 +0000 UTC View PostShe was there the entire time. Memories of the past years flooded Oscar's mind as he saw each and every day spent in this home, his heart warmed by the ceaseless hours of one-sided conversations and caring love. Every tender word, the cadence of her sonorous voice as she spent her time talking to...
2024-02-21 03:03:07 +0000 UTC View PostDays turned into weeks, and weeks flew by like a breeze as months rolled over into years. As usual, the forests bordering the Beak of Ra were still in full bloom, with no regard for the changing seasons or shifting weather. In the tranquility of the never-ending summer, Avril pushed Oscar on his ...
2024-02-19 20:01:29 +0000 UTC View PostIt was dawn. The boarded windows blocked light from peeking through, and even if they weren't, the flames from the Beak of Ra burned eternally right by her doorsteps, overtaking the cycle of day and night. But Avril knew it was dawn, having woken up to Oscar's schedule for decades. Yawning, she c...
2024-02-19 04:44:48 +0000 UTC View PostAvril hummed a simple tune, sometimes whistling as her foot tapped the hard white wood. Solara had crafted the house well, leaving a finely cut slab of hard stone for a stove above a gap meant for a fire to burn and cook any on top. Her pot boiled, the lid clattering and spinning about the tip as...
2024-02-17 03:20:59 +0000 UTC View PostRemulus watched as Auren left his bubble of Ein. The young Exalt clamored in excitement and lunged straight for the arms of the strange blond one, a presence similar to his old friend, Caires, engraved in his figure, that of the dragon's. So this was the group the other Oscar, Demon, had gathered...
2024-02-16 06:33:36 +0000 UTC View PostDemon opened his eyes, narrowing them at the unfamiliar scenery. Tall white trees rose from the fields of flame-like flowers in bloom, leaves of red, gold, yellow, and orange swaying gently to the breeze. His nails scratched and scarped on oddly hard knobs, and he noticed he was sitting in a whee...
2024-02-15 03:33:54 +0000 UTC View PostAvril felt embarrassed, heat rising in her reddening cheeks. She had responded how she would regarding Oscar but didn't expect her habit to spill out her inner thoughts, like being naked before a crowd. Renn and Gloria smirked and quickly hid their lips behind their hands, their eyes, however, ga...
2024-02-14 03:47:24 +0000 UTC View PostBits of moonlight glanced off the low, soft waves, their light skimming along the tides. The sound of the waves wafting gently on the sandy shores was oddly soothing, beat by beat, landing and receding, like the ticking of a clock in a quiet room. Avril recalled these shores, unable to hold down ...
2024-02-13 04:17:07 +0000 UTC View PostAvril remained silent for the remainder of the journey, tending to Oscar, Erden, and Maia. The entire family spoke not a word, even Gloria, the ever-cheerful and lively, solemn. As Gloria's healing light poured onto the afflicted areas, Avril undid the bandages and wiped their wounds clean, caref...
2024-02-13 00:26:37 +0000 UTC View PostA small rainbow ember, soft and warm, entered her chest. While she did not know who Ignyres was and what an Ancient was, Maia chose to believe in the voice and allowed the stranger to delve into her core. Firstly, the power she sensed from the voice far outstripped the former Pavilion Master's, a...
2024-02-11 22:25:34 +0000 UTC View PostAvril inhaled deeply and calmed herself. Her shoulders and hands shook to the beating of her strained heart, so fast she could barely hear it drumming in her ears. Bit by bit, it slowed and dragged, recovering to its norm. She gripped her numb fingers on her staff and eyed Sirsi and Maia, who sta...
2024-02-11 05:18:07 +0000 UTC View Post"Erden…." Avril tried to settle down the wild Erden. His legs kicked everywhere wildly as if he was drowning and desperately trying to swim. A hoof slammed into the fireplace, breaking the pile of burning coals. She gripped his hooves, her strength enough to hold down Erden, quite telling of hi...
2024-02-10 17:25:47 +0000 UTC View PostMaia blinked, wondering what exactly she was doing. After being saved by the strange Avril, she ended up in a fancy inn, sharing a meal with two brats, a strange old man wearing a mask, and Avril. The enticing scent of the freshly roasted chicken wafted and nearly caused a drool to spill from her...
2024-02-10 02:30:09 +0000 UTC View Post"This is unacceptable! We must make a plea to the Primaere. Our long history must not be uprooted!" A man clad in scarlet armor shouted, throwing his helmet to the floor into a series of clangs, the sunlight from the glass ceiling glistening the red metal.
A part of the light forced its way...
2024-02-09 03:48:02 +0000 UTC View PostThirty years ago, at the climax of the great war, Maia fought fiercely against the prince, Charles Anholt Dragnar, his silver-haired figure flashing in a blur of light that zipped in zig-zags. The high-pitched shrills of his light pierced her ears, and her mind shook slightly, her Ein disrupted a...
2024-02-08 05:12:58 +0000 UTC View PostAvril hastily unlatched the broken armor, tossing the pieces without care, a sound like glass shattering echoing behind her. Squeezing another wet towel, she wiped down most of his body, grimacing at the large scar, like a gaping hole, on his chest over where the core should be as if something ha...
2024-02-07 03:33:08 +0000 UTC View Post"Still alive?" Erden asked, groaning as his one good wing held the broken wing and the nearly-severed leg. The bits of sapphire armor flaked off, revealing his white fur.
"You're still alive, aren't you? Why ask such a meaningless question?" Demon replied. His vision blurred as the deep dar...
2024-02-05 23:28:04 +0000 UTC View PostAuren wiped a bead of sweat from his brow and sighed into the deep pit, several tens of feet down. The workers had dug well. He rechecked his theorized formation on his scroll, tapping on the point corresponding to the hole before him. With his memory, he didn't need to recheck any notes, his mem...
2024-02-05 05:37:30 +0000 UTC View PostThe bright flame in his hand thumped, its beating akin to a warm heart as it swelled and diminished. Sewn by Ignyres's hands, the fire burned in a myriad of colors as if threads had been carefully woven into a singular masterpiece. Ignyres had taken quite a while to create it, and he endured much...
2024-02-03 20:10:49 +0000 UTC View Post