"You swamp... you, whose name is course on one's lips, you, who give nightmares to those that haven't even glanced at you... where's my little brother?"
My first writeblr story introduction! My other blog is @bunnymermaidsblog (don't follow me on there, please)
Fantasy
Family
Siblings
Friendship
Rescue mission
Betrayal
Monsters
Summary:
The majestic country of Galla floats in the sky, put there by the doves themselves. Underneath it is the monster-filled Black swamp.
When Adél's little brother, Ákos falls into the Black swamp, she and her best friend Bendegúz decide to go and rescue him. Or try anyway.
The girl who's afraid of everything, the boy who's afraid of nothing in the most terrifying place on earth.
Meanwhile, back home Adél's older brother, Endre, slowly figures out that their little brother never fell... he was pushed.
🕊
Main characters:
Adél: The girl who's afraid of everything
Bendegúz: The boy who's afraid of nothing
Ákos: The curious kitten
Endre: With his wings wrapped around you, he'll protect you
Odette: She will be one of the best triarhists in history. She swears
My entery to the @whumperless-whump-event ! I hope you'll enjoy!
Let me know if I need to tag anything!
Background info about this setting and Dristan can be found here!
💜🐑Day 19: Cursed🐑💜
It is the last day of whatever month it is.
It is nearly pitch dark in the cave. So dark that Dristan is left blind.
Left…
Left, left, left.
Didn’t the villagers with their hearts full of love for the boy always leave a lantern for him to be able to see while in the cave? A teeny-tiny lantern, with a teeny-tiny glow? One decorated with swirls and patterns to reflect on the lonely walls?
(Didn’t he always break it in the end?)
Left, left, left.
No time ever left or even provided for him to begin with.
A scorching hot sensation pours through his neck as it grows stiff. He sucks in a breath and hopes it lessens. It will lessen. It should, it’s just the pinch of his muscles.
Just be logical. It shall pass.
It doesn’t pass. It stays and stays, present and persistent, his neck harder than diamonds.
He can’t help it. He cries out and reaches for it, hoping maybe the brush of warm fingers will fix it. But his hands are cold, and he is hasty, and clumsy, and tired and he trips and falls.
Left. Left. Left.
Little shepherd left alone with no herd in the uncomfortable dark. This is his punishment. He knows, and knows it well. The God of Time has no patience for his sort.
His actions, his body, his heart. All an anomaly. They shouldn’t be here, and his whole being knows it.
He can feel the curse move within him. That thing, whatever it is that moves the hands of time plays harshly with his body.
He hears something. Clattering? Breaking glass? (The broken lantern?)
Not that he needs it anymore to see.
Light begins to fill at least some of the space, coming from within his own veins.
Magic flows (is it his own or is it the curse? Is it all the same, does it matter?) up from his fingertips, leaving them buzzing, through his neck, his cheekbones, his temples, into his horns. A smooth wave of power, and the horns shift with a quiet, splintering noise.
It hurts…
It hurts. It hurts! It hurts! IthurtsithurtsithurtsITHURTS!
HURTS!
HUUUURTS!
Dristan’s mind whites out. He can’t even recall how to breathe.
And all that ill, corrupted, infected power swells until he doesn’t feel like himself anymore.
All he knows that it hurts.
He hurts.
The tiny cave shakes, stones crack and crumble, as he screams and tries to claw his way out and away.
The magic flows still, dragged away from him like blood from a wound.
It’s not even his. It was never even supposed to be his. Not the blood, nor the magic. Nothing was. Not father’s warm hugs, not Sugar, the sheep’s wet nose as she nuzzles him, nothing!
Nothing…
Nothing is all he can think of now, laying limp and exhausted on the cave floor after hours of the cursed pain having taken full control.
The new scratches he clawed into the smoothed stone now dig into his flesh, pinching his skin like naughty children.
He looks unnatural. Just the slightest bit off. Some of his fingers still replaced by claws. Neck elongated. Spine shifted ever so slightly to the right. Half of his ribs protruding out, and half sunken in, like a broken piano. All covered in thin skin, lit with a glistening green glow.
The glow covers his eyes too. Perhaps that’s a blessing at this stage of the process. To at least see pretty sparkles as he waits for the pain to ebb. They change from neon to turquoise to yellow and back. Dristan thinks he hears them humm a natural melody and tries to match it to the best of his ability.
His body will change back, for the most part. If anything stays out of place by the morning it should return to normal by the end of the week. He will be let out of here shortly, and finally be able to hug his father again.
He doesn’t think about that now.
He is unable to think at all.
Suddenly something, magic, or an involuntary muscle spasm shifts his body, leaving him in gravity’s hands. One of his horns bumps against a rock, which aggravates the other. He sucks in a breath at the pain, and reaches up to grab them both.
Thankfully, the natural movement done on reflex is enough to coax his claws to turn back into fingers, his spine to shift back in place.
He blinks. His vision is still full of sparks, but they’re starting to lessen. He feels relieved to be able to make out the walls of the cave. Even the sight of the damage he’d done to the stone doesn’t put a damper on the feeling.
Indeed there are claw marks and broken rocks everywhere. Dristan just now realizes that he’s completely covered in dust. Judging by the tingling in his throat he probably inhaled a good portion of it too.
As feelings other than pain start to register, Dristan figures it must probably be close to morning time.
I want to look at the entrance.
Shifting around his eyes, and eyes alone he tries to judge his position. Even if the little cave gets damaged just a bit more every time he’s here, he still knows it like the back of his hand. He can make out that one rock that looks like a nose upside down, next to that one big crack that he’d made a few years ago. If he were to turn around now he would surely be able to see the entrance, sealed off as it may be. He bites down on the inside of his cheeks at the thought.
He’s so drained, still in so much pain.
But he wants to look.
Mustering all the willpower he can, Dristan starts to roll over slowly. His muscles resist. Loudly. It’s tiring, with minutes long pauses, and jerky movements. He supposes that he must look akin to a drowning fish on dry land with how he’s flopping around.
In the end, he is left panting, muscles still cracking unhappily, even when he stopped moving. His body feels numb, blood buzzing oddly next to his bones. He can’t move anymore. But he got what he wanted. His vision blurs, then clears. Then he sees it, and Dristan smiles.
A big, flat, stone slab which always covers the entrance. Covered in intricate carvings of sheep, and poems, and blessings, which somehow miraculously didn’t get ruined during one of his rampages yet.
And when that slab is finally moved away in the morning it will be a new day and everything will be all well again.
(Story unrelated to my wip: From up High to Down Low)
• Fantasy
• Curses
• Day-to-day life
• Sheep
(Place and creature names are under construction, please bear with me 🚧)
In the caves under Beast mountain, in the peaceful, little village of Stonewool lives a shepherd, as gentle as the sheep he herds. Dristan, with his X shaped horns, is kind and sweet, if a little awkward, but he will not fail to bring a smile to your face if you ever meet him.
Yet, the whole village knows of the boy's harsh burden, for he made the error of being born on the wrong day.
Febuary 29th. The day that doesn't exist, but once every four years.
Those born on this day are said to be cursed by the God of Time with eternal bad luck. Furthermore at the end of every month their own magic turns against them, painfully twisting even the kindest souls into hideous beasts.
There are only two things separating Dristan from those just like him, few as they may be: a father that is determined to give him a happy life and half a village that is ready to help him achieve that.
💎💎💎💎💎💎💎💎💎💎💎💎💎💎💎💎💎💎
About the setting
Beast mountain was formed long ago over the dead body of a dragon. People who have lived in the caves beneath were blessed (or cursed, depending on who you ask) with horns and natural magic.
Alongside the people there are many magical creatures living in the caves, such as the crystal sheep who eat minirals, stones and crystals that they find. The humans living there often use them to help with mining, and they often sell their wares by going to the surface world.
Only the people living in the caves are affected by the curse of the God of Time, but no one is certain why.
I hope you'll enjoy this little thing (even if it might not be my best work. I'm a bit rusty because I haven't written in a while but I think it turned out cute!❤️❤️❤️) (also sorry for any spelling errors)
The characters belong to @writerfae
Summary: Me last year: What if Aiden cold🥺 Me this year: What if Talon cold🥺
Shivering
The sky groaned and creaked with thunder.
Talon grit his teeth as large amounts of water poured off the leaves right onto his neck. The weather turned quickly, sneaking up on him and Aiden, while he was acompanying the man on a hunt. No matter how fast they were in their haste to get back, that did nothing to prevent Talon's poor, thin shirt from getting completely soaked.
He heard a giggle and lifted his head from the ground in favour of looking at Aiden, who was wearing his well-worn cloak that used to belong to his brother, hood up to offer protection.
"I thought fae were supposed to be able to foretell the weather" Aiden said. He at least had to decency to look just the slightest bit ashamed at having laughed at Talon's misery. He tilted his head in such an angle that the rain that had gathered on the top of his head now spilled down the side of his hood, in glistening droplets.
Talon frowned. Aiden was right, of course, like he oh so often was. Talon could sense that the weather would turn sour soon, yet he payed the natural warning signs no mind, choosing to put... other matters in the forefront of his mind instead. Much more important matters, such as the boy that was standing right next to him, with his beautiful eyes, his long lashes, speaking with that one of a kind voice, which could turn Talon's mind inside out if Aiden so desired.
Talon suppressed a shiver, and instead tried to gather heat from the half-hearted glare he aimed at the other man:
"We can, but that doesn't mean we can always be ready for it"
They walked on in merciful silence for all of two seconds, before:
"I believe it does, actually" Much to Talon's dismay, Aiden grinned, like he did every time he made a playful attempt at a jab at him, "Was I really so distracting that you forgot your own coat?"
Yes, Talon wanted to say.
Yes, you were.
Yes, you are.
In mockery of the cold wind, Talon's face grew red all the way to the tips of his ears as he tried to come up with any comeback to that statement that wouldn't make him look like a fool. Yet, wether because of the frigid air or the embarrassment, he could find nothing to say, that wasn't the absolute truth.
After a few seconds Aiden's smile softened like a feather, and he reached for the clasp at his neck that held his cloak in place.
Talon's eyes narrowed, his demeanor becoming serious immediately:
"No" he told Aiden firmily, as he stepped forward through the cold rain to gently grab his hands "You keep that on. I don't want you to get sick" Who cared about his own shivering? It wasn't as if he could get ill from it... unlike his lovely, foolish crow.
But the boy just kept smiling, and brushed a hand through Talon's wet hair.
"Trust me" he asked.
And how could Talon not?
Aiden fully removed his cloak and placed it around Talon's shoulders. He pulled the hood up, adjusting it on the fae's head, pulling it this way and that, making sure that the guard could still see. His eyes loudly, freely spoke about how much he loved what he was looking at as he did so.
Both boys shivered when a strong gust of wind hit them with the largest of raindrops you could imagine. Talon wove his arms around Aiden, trying to shield him, best he could. But as the freezing wave passed on, Aiden didn't pull away, like Talon thought he would.
Instead he grabbed one of Talon's hands, and stood shoulder to shoulder to him, lifting the cloak so that it covered his head too.
Talon blinked at his soaking wet boyfriend in what he couldn’t decide was awe or confusion.
And Aiden, looking just as ridiculous hiding under the wrong end of a cloak as you might expect, laughed:
"I told you to trust me, didn't I?"
This is how they made their way back home, hand in hand, one of them under the hood, the other under the rest of the cloak.
Omg hii! I'm the same person who you sent that ask to ( @bunnymermaidsblog ), just, this us where I post writing stuff, so I hope that's okay that I'm answering this way!❤️
Thank you for your ask!
Sorry if this is gonna be a bit all over the place, because he's still in the stages of being developed! (Also I'm gonna ramble on a lot about the world, just because I really love it sooo...❤️🙈)
Dristan is descended from a group of people who live in a vast cave system, which was formed long ago within the corpse of a long dead dragon. He lives in a village called Stonewool valley (name may change).
Dristan is a shepherd, but not for ordinary sheep. It's a fantasy species that for now I'm calling crystal sheep (but i really want to come up with something better to call them). They are special, because they can be trained to sniff out and even dig up metals/minirals/ gemstones/ etc from the earth (similarly to how truffle pigs find truffles irl) (yes, these sheep eat rocks). You can even train them to find a specific type of thing, for instance sheep A is good for finding emeralds while sheep B is good for finding copper. Dristan's people's main form of trade is selling whatever them and these sheep mined to people on the surface. Not all the sheep that he looks after are his, he's just getting paid to take them out to eat/ walk around and stuff. Despite this, the sheep are really, really attached to him! That is THEIR boy! He loves them and they love him! (I also wanna give him a sheep dog but I'm still working on that)
Dristan's people have horns (due to living inside what was once a dragon). Unfortunately for him, his just so happened to grow in a way that they form an X on his forehead. They push up against each other and it sometimes really hurts him (kinda like wisdom teeth when they push up against your other teeth).
This is where i start getting into the theoretical whump, which is there in theory, but every time I try to imagine it, it's too sad, i can't 😭 like, poor, sweet boy!
Dristan was born on February 29th. (So leap year) In this world, for his people, this is means that he's cursed. They say that the God of time itself feels like those born on that day stole from him, so he punishes them.
For one, with bad luck
For another... weeellll: "He can feel the weight of non-existent hours on his skin, time wishing to reclaim what's been stolen, ready swallow him whole once more."
Basically this curse affects his magic (yeah these people have magic). At the end of every month his own magic is turned against him. It's really painful, it twists his muscles, and it sends him into this werewolf-like state for a night, because it hurts so much, but he can't get away from the pain, because it comes from inside.
When he was born, his dad (his mom unfortunately died not long after his birth) looked at this situation and decided "I'm gonna love this kid so much, that somehow, some way I'm gonna counterbalance this curse given bad luck and make sure that he is happy and as okay as he can be" ...AND IT WORKED! For the most part at least.
Like, no, Dristan can't get rid of his curse, and it sucks, especially the side-effect of his muscles still hurting after, or him not being able to use magic that well... but he's loved, and that's so important. And it's not just his dad and the sheep!
You see his dad is a well-liked person in the community. His bffs are the local Ranger and priestess and his brother in law runs the local tavern with his wife. So the whole village basically felt really bad when this all happened to his family. There are of course those who want to stay clear of Dristan because of the curse, and those who just mind their own business but for the most part the village kinda look at Dristan like "their boy," you know? Despite all his issues.
I think that's most of it! But feel free to ask more questions about him if you'd like!
Once again thank you so so much for your ask❤️
Also, Dristan has my favorite moodboard that I've made thus far!!!
like the betrayal’s always going to be worse if they cared about you and it didn’t matter. someone discards you because they didn’t give a shit, then you can be angry about that, you can feel vindicated in that, you can get over it. but if they can look you in the eyes and say “I love you. I would make the same choice again.” You will never sleep peacefully again, is all.
“I thought they cared about me, but they were lying this whole time.” <- tired. boring. removes all the nuance of this relationship to make it easier to move on from.
“I thought they cared about me, and I was right, and every minute they were there for me, every time they said they were proud, every laugh we shared leaning against each other bruised and breathless, all of it was real. and they still left me behind. They could put their love aside. I couldn’t.” <- insane. will never leave you alone. reminds you that even the worst people are still people and can still care about even the ones they hurt the most and that undoes neither the harm nor the love.
okay. something about the way i worded this is making people think this is a vent thing about real relationships. and it’s fine if that’s where it took you. but i feel like i need to be transparent here: this be blorboposting. karlach cliffgate and her terrible awful no good very bad betrayal.
...why are all of mine in Nuclear (except maybe Bendegúz, who might be in the "scary, but not nuclear")
Yes, Ákos would be in Nuclear
And ohohHOOOO YOU KNOW THAT ADÉL'S THERE
(For context, both of these characters are the most innocent beings on earth (Ákos is only 10 yo). It's hard to set them off but IF YOU DO (and that would require... for there to be some serious threat against them or their loved ones)
