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will byers stan first human second
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todays bird
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@pjartama
Collection of commissions from this month :] 💕
Velvetaire(top left) belongs to @awwwherewegoooo
Rōnin(top right) belongs to @pjartama
Vharas & Valerian belong to @13leaguestories
This is the best one yet! Always a pleasure to commission you!
Sujin Kojima for @pjartama ! 😊💕
✨️ Commission info | Art tag ✨️
Truly amazing! Always a pleasure to work with you.
Commission for @pjartama of his OC, Rōnin !💕✌🏻
✨️ Commission info | Art tag ✨️
Em is such a wonderful artist! Truly amazing at what they do! Thank you again so much for bringing my guy to life!!
Commission for @pjartama of his and his friend's OCs, Heart and Rōnin !💕✌🏻
✨️ Commission info | Art tag ✨️
It's a truly amazing piece! Em did such an amazing job bringing them to life and I could not be happier!!
Just One Dance (2023)
This is one of the best pieces I've ever made with the two best characters ever in an rp I'm in, one being my own creation. I'm only sorry I didn't get to post it way sooner here.
On October 1st, 2016, 600 people woke up to a very strange channel in their subscription box on Youtube. This is that channel.
On October 1st, 2016, 600 people woke up to a very strange channel in their subscription box on YouTube with no memory of ever subscribing to it.
The events that unfolded affected many lives, caused misery, chaos, and death to ensue, and ensured the instigator of it all, the Madman of Re, could ascend.
Five years later, on October 1st, 2022, 2,500+ people woke up subscribed to this channel once more, bringing with it new dreams and nightmares, and a new threat more fierce and more malicious in the Madman's absence.
This is that channel.
Viewer Discretion is Highly Advised.
6 years on here. Geez, has it truly been this long?
“I’ve come up with a plan.”
“Hello, so … I’ve been having some issues. I’ve been seeing a lot more stuff lately, and … it’s not the usual stuff - and I really can not tell if it’s real or if it isn’t.”
“My plan is to record myself in a dark room, and get myself in the mindspace that I usually see these things in, to spook myself…”
“… and I’m going to see if I can catch one on camera… “
“ …to prove to myself whether or not this is real … “
Meatburger Episode Two : First Encounter
Stay tuned for more -
I strongly recommend you check out this series. The people behind it are fantastic storytellers and have wowed me more times than I can count every time I sit down to watch an episode. In my experience, once you're in you don't ever want to leave. Check out meatburger today and remember... stay tuned for more.
ID5 AND SOTS SPOILERS!!
The Man in Black: A King’s Kindness
Written by PJ Artama
Ah, Australia. The land down under. The only official continent to also be considered an island. Though the majority of it was a desert and populated with human cities, it wasn’t without a large populated variety of lush, vibrant plants and vegetation that were teaming with all forms of life. Especially on the east coast. Gazing upon it all never failed to bring a smile to King Oberon’s face. His wife, Titania, disagreed. While Australia did have plenty to offer, being a unique, thriving place and a nice change in pace and scenery every now and then, she much preferred the enticing, colder environment and wildlife of Britain.
Yet, as tensions grew between the European High Elven Council and the Faeries of Scotland, the two Fairy rulers knew that their home of several generations would no longer be safe for their people if the two races went to war. Moving to Australia was one of the hardest decisions he and his wife ever had to make. They knew that some wouldn’t agree, and those who did were not forced to leave with them, but it was for the good of all Fairies that they flee and find respite away from the heat of this political battle.
Now, several months later and thousands of miles away from their native homeland, their people, including themselves, were all making do in this unfamiliar country. Settling in was easier than they expected. Thanks to the help of their distant Fay and Fairy cousins, they were able to establish their new refuge deep within the most remote forest in New South Wales. However, there were still many hardships to face, especially with C.A.T.A.L.Y.S.T., an organisation out to hunt their kind down, having such a strong foothold in this country than they did back in Britain. This proved to be quite difficult and exhausting, and soon the two royals desperately needed a break. So, one afternoon, they went about taking time away from their duties to explore through the woods beyond their borders, whilst surrounded by their armed and armored Royal Guard of Red Fairies.
The birds chirped lively as the branches and leaves on the trees gently swayed in the low wind. The soft breeze was cool and refreshing on all of their skins, even sending a pleasant chill through their fluttering wings as they traversed through the majestic forest. The smell of the freshly wet earth and fallen leaves on the forest floor were delightful. The light of the sun shone through with magical beams of warmth as the sound of a light stream could be heard in the distance, allowing them to find a semblance of gentle inner peace. The senses he was experiencing had him absolutely mesmerized. The place also seemed to be growing on his wife as well as she breathed in the fresh air. The guards kept their cool expressions throughout the journey.
They were about several miles out when they suddenly felt something odd prickle his ears. The wind shifted rapidly as the weird tingling sensation began to grow. Something was coming and it wasn’t good. The guards immediately went into a protective formation, encircling him and his wife with shields and blades out. Then without warning, a large distant blinding flash of white and purple light and energy burst forth ahead of them. The energy expanded outwards, shaking the air with violent aggression, as it partially enveloped them all. The trees surrounding the group helplessly shook back and forth in rapid motion. A cluster of dirt, grass leaves and branches went flying in all directions as everyone lost their flight balance and were sent tumbling backwards to the ground with a crash. Oberon and Titania both looked up in awe. This raw unfocused energy they were in… powerful, unstable, painful with a hint of familiarity: it was nothing they had ever experienced before. The guards, more focused on the self-preservation of their leaders, rushed to get back into formation once more when the large, powerful light and energy blast dissipated to nothing. Everything slowly stopped swinging and flying around wildly everywhere as the group cautiously waited for something else to appear. When nothing did, they all breathed a sigh of relief; the guards letting their stances slack somewhat. He and his wife looked at each other. Whatever it was that caused this explosion of powerful energy, it wasn’t too far away from them. They both nodded in knowing agreement; this wasn’t something they could ignore. With a command to the guards, the group took flight once more and made their way towards the source.
Within around ten minutes, they all passed through the treeline and arrived at the area where the explosion originated from. It was an absolute wreck. The ground was nothing more than a scorched crater as fires raged amongst the destruction. The wildlife that once resided here in this clearing were all burned away into extinction. Large bent and charred metallic pieces were scattered all over the place, some embedded deep into the earth and some puncturing trees, drawing out sap. And there were even hints of cooked human remains on the ground and on some of those pieces, adding to the smoke and ash that rose high into the air; causing them all to cough and gag badly upon breathing and smelling it in.
Oberon insisted they go in for a closer look, so they all went in; the guards once again prepared for anything unexpected to jump out at them as they spread out. As they started moving towards the centre of this devastation, he and his wife both started to try and piece together what happened here.
“These pieces of metal seem to be from something human made,” Titania thought aloud.
“A building perhaps?” he replied.
“It’s certainly possible. I saw something that resembled pipes back at the treeline. And that’s no feat of Fay engineering.”
“Right. But if that’s the case, why would a building be out here in the middle of the forest?”
“Light if I know, dear.”
As she said that, they suddenly heard a call from one of the guards who was ahead of them.
“Your majesties! I’ve found something here in the centre. You must come at once!”
Quickly, they both flew towards the centre of the crater with their other guards following behind. When they arrived, they set down onto the ground to see the guard standing before them.
“I can’t explain how this is possible. But…”
The guard then stepped aside to show their leaders what they had found, and Oberon and Titania couldn’t believe their eyes.
A human boy, roughly eight or nine years old, was lying in the rubble there. His clothes were tattered and burnt, yet his skin and hair were untouched by any of the destruction that was caused here. They could even hear the faint sound of soft breathing from this boy. It was clear he was caught in the explosion due to the evidence of his ruined clothing, but he was unharmed. Unconscious, but alive.
“I just found him like this,” the guard explained, “I have no idea how he got here or why he was here.”
This baffled him. That powerful explosion they had seen and been on the edge of destroyed this entire place. No one could’ve survived. Yet, here before them laid a human child who seemingly did. How this boy had survived was probably the biggest question on their minds, but the guard also made a good point: why was this boy here, and how did he get here in the first place?
“Is there anything on his person to elaborate his predicament?” Oberon asked.
“Sadly no, your kingship. He’s all but bare as you can see.”
“Skrac!” he cursed. It would seem this was a mystery they weren’t going to solve.
Another guard walked up to them. “What do you suggest we do with him, your majesties?”
Oberon wasn’t sure himself what to do with this boy. He looked to Titania for her advice, but she didn’t meet his gaze this time as she pondered to herself on the matter at hand. He then looked back to the boy still lying before him and pondered a bit more. At the very least, he didn’t want this boy left alone in the middle of a forested nowhere.
“I think we should get this boy out of here and bring him back home with us.”
“Actually dear, I think it would be best if we just move him to the treeline only.”
Oberon immediately swung his head back to her. “What?”
“Don’t get me wrong, my curiosity in his survival is astoundingly high. But, we don’t know anything about this boy, who he is, where he came from, why he’s here of all places. Plus, he is a human and humans aren’t supposed to know that we actually exist. Our people may possibly revolt against us if we brought him back with us.”
“We can’t just leave him alone in this forest, Titania. He could die!”
“If this boy managed to survive the explosion, I’m sure he can survive out here by himself.”
Oberon couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Yes, they were Fairies. Yes, it would be controversial for them to help a human. But he couldn’t sit by to watch as a seemingly innocent child died and they just didn’t care to actually help him. Yet as he went to retort, a droplet of water suddenly fell onto his cheek. Then another and another and pretty soon, the area began to fill with water droplets.
“There’s no time for a debate on this,” Titania exclaimed, “If we stay any longer, then we can’t get back home. We have to grab this boy and get him to the treeline now!”
She looked at him with urgency in her eyes. Conflicted, Oberon looked back once more to the boy, peacefully unconscious. Then back up to the sky as the rain was beginning to pick up the pace. Finally, he gave a reluctant sigh.
“Do as she says.”
Deep down, he knew she was right. Saving the life of this human child wasn’t as important as ensuring their own survival, lest their people devolve into chaos upon learning of their deaths. Yet, as his guards convened to pick him up, his heart heavily sank knowing he was subjecting this innocent boy to having a less than likely chance at surviving on his own out here. He bit his lip quite hard: could he have made the wrong choice here?
The guards all gathered around to pick up the boy and move him. When they touched him to lift him up, however, Oberon and Titania felt the tingling sensation return. Suddenly, a short flash of light appeared, stunning the guards in place and creating a force that sent them all shooting backwards to the ground at once. In that brief moment, both Oberon and Titania felt the raw power once more as they too were knocked off their feet from the force and clutched their heads in mild agony. When everyone got their bearings back after a few seconds, they all looked at each other in shock and confusion. Glancing at the unconscious boy, resting peacefully and unaware of what was going on, it all suddenly became clear to him. This boy was no ordinary human. He wasn’t just caught in the explosion by mere random chance: he was actually the one who made it happen.
How? How was this feasible? It didn’t make any sense. No human, least of all a child, should be capable of such a feat of power. Especially not one as raw and unstable as that. It was absolutely impossible.
Suddenly, he heard his wife gasp.
“Oberon, you need to come and look at this.”
He turned around behind him to see his wife standing over one of the large pieces of metal sticking out of the ground she had landed next to. Despite the fact it was bent out of shape and blackened to cinders, it still had something coherent on it. A large carved image of the planet with faint writing along the outside, showing words like ‘Test’, ‘Anomalies’, ‘Legends’ and ‘Supernatural Tales’. He had seen this emblem before back home. He was shown it again by his cousins as a warning. This… this was the symbol for C.A.T.A.L.Y.S.T.
Now it all made sense. What once existed here was most likely a C.A.T.A.L.Y.S.T. testing facility of some kind, hidden out here so no one could find it. And this human boy was likely one of its subjects. This was bad news. Not only was C.A.T.A.L.Y.S.T. not far from their people, but they had had a hand in creating this boy’s powers by experimenting on him. Suddenly, he heard a noise in the distance. A sound of blaring sirens. Then he remembered something his cousins had explained based on their own experiences. Something that made him pale at the realization: ‘If a C.A.T.A.L.Y.S.T. facility goes down unexpectedly, it sends out an alert calling all nearby forces to investigate.’ Those sirens were from the nearby forces... C.A.T.A.L.Y.S.T. was coming.
“We need to get out of here now!” his wife exclaimed, already preparing to take off.
“What about the boy?”
“Leave him! We cannot be discovered here. It’s too late to do anything for him now. Guards, follow me!”
The guards left the boy behind and fell back to the treeline immediately with Titania ahead of them. Oberon hesitated. He looked back to the boy lying before him. What manner of experimenting did they do to him to make him this way?
“Oberon!”
He shouldn’t be left here to suffer alone. But now, with C.A.T.A.L.Y.S.T. on the way, they’d find him and capture him for sure.
“Oberon! Now!”
Then they’d experiment on him more and find a way to use him as a weapon. Perhaps to wipe them out or some other sinister purpose. ...He couldn’t let that happen.
“OBERON!”
“I’M NOT LEAVING THIS CHILD BEHIND TO BE CAPTURED AND USED BY CATALYST AGAIN!”
“OBERON NO!”
He ignored his wife and went to pick up the boy. Surprisingly, he was able to lift him into his arms without any form of explosion. The rain was starting to come down hard now. He knew he couldn’t afford to spread his wings now, so he ran. The boy wasn’t overly big. But in the arms of a Fairy, he was the equivalent to a medium box in a human’s arms. As such, there was some weight, causing Oberon’s running speed to be cut down in half. He wouldn’t give up though, despite the weight. So, he pushed onwards as his long forest green soaked hair slid in front of his emerald green eyes, partially obscuring his view.
The sirens were getting louder and louder as he was halfway across the area on foot. They would be emerging through the opposite side any second now. He was starting to feel himself give a little as his arms and legs began tiring themselves out. He was wincing now from the exhaustion. He wasn’t going to make it.
Then a warm magical blue light dust suddenly began to envelop him. He looked ahead to see his wife holding out her hands towards him as she grabbed hold of him with the dust. She then tugged hard and Oberon felt himself and the boy be yanked across the area to just twenty feet outside the treeline when the dust was all but completely removed by the rain. She then collapsed into a guard’s arms from the effort.
He knew that Fairies were generally limited in terms of magic because they needed a special kind of dust called Fairy Dust. When Fairy Dust was on hand, they could do a wondrous amount of things, including flight with their wings. Yet, Fairy Dust runs out quite quickly depending on the magic being used, and if they don’t have a reserve, replenishing stocks is near-impossible. Unfortunately for his people, a reserve was hard to come by in Australia, so they had to borrow some from their cousins, limited to a bag each. His wife probably had used most of hers up getting him and the boy closer. His heart sank that he cost her so much. But he didn’t have time to stop and feel guilty, the roaring of vehicles were coming from behind him. He had to get to the treeline now.
With a final push, he ran the last twenty feet through the trees just as the off-road vehicles, cars, trucks and bikes burst through on the other side. They all quickly rushed to blend themselves into the forest as a bunch of armoured humans emerged from the vehicles and began swarming the area, searching for anyone or anything alive. Stealthily and quietly, everyone moved back deeper into the forest as the C.A.T.A.L.Y.S.T. forces started their detecting procedure. Oberon still held the boy close in his arms next to his wife being supported by the guard who caught her as all of them escaped unnoticed and undetected.
They all walked for half-an-hour, stuck closely together in complete silence. The rain was loud above their heads as trickles of it pierced through the branches onto them all. The guards were now carrying the boy together on their shoulders, like a human burial, as Oberon guided and supported Titania, arm over shoulder. Any worries of being followed were quickly cut off thanks to their good pace and the rain masking their scent. Not to mention their light feet barely disturbed the dirt and leaves under them. Finally, after a few miles of walking, they came across a large hollow tree and decided to rest there until the rain stopped.
They were all exhausted. Gently resting the boy down on the tree’s interior before Oberon and Titania, the guards then all sighed with relief at finally being able to rest for a time while still maintaining vigilance. Oberon then sat his wife down on the ground inside the tree and tenderly pressed his head into hers. He held her close and closed his eyes.
“I’m so sorry, Tania. I’m sorry I put us at risk. I should’ve listened to you.”
“Yes, you should’ve,” came her soft-spoken but harsh reply, “You could’ve nearly gotten us captured or killed because of that boy. You risked exposing our people to that awful organization. And we’re the rulers for Light’s sake! You were absolutely reckless Oberon.”
He sighed in remorse. “Tania, I-”
Before he could utter a word, she pulled him into a kiss. His eyes shot open in shock. He saw tears start to form around her closed eyes and he couldn’t help but start to tear up too. He closed his eyes once again and returned the kiss back. The regret in his heart seemed to partially melt away as their lips connected in a loving embrace. She then broke away and they both opened their eyes to look at each other.
“But despite that, you were right dear. He may be a human, but he doesn’t deserve to suffer alone out here. Least of all back at the hands of Catalyst. I didn’t realise that until I saw you running back there with him in your arms. The sheer selflessness and determination on your face. I… was wrong. I should’ve listened to you from the start.”
She wrapped her arms around him for a warm hug. He felt her face rest up against his shoulder as he pulled her in closer.
“Can you ever forgive me?” she asked while muffled.
“Yes of course I forgive you Tania.” He kissed her on the head. “But can you ever forgive me for getting us into this mess? For causing you to use up a portion of your own dust to save me? And for just being a terrible husband?”
“You’re not a terrible husband, Obe and don’t you ever say that again. You simply made a few mistakes. I could never not forgive you for that. And don’t worry about the dust. Having you safe and alive is worth more to me than all the Fairy Dust in the world.”
Oberon tearfully smiled as he pulled her out of the hug and kissed her once more. All the guilt weighing down on his heart had now been washed away as his joy and love for his beloved wife soared. They remained like that for around a minute before finally parting. His emerald green eyes rested on her sky blue ones longingly and lovingly, never wanting to break away. They then heard a brief noise. Both of them turned to see the boy instinctively move his head to the side while resting in front of them. His face looked soft and innocent as his wet red hair glistened in the brief light poking through the storm and trees.
“What should we do with him?” his wife inquired.
“I think for now we should focus on getting him safely back to our place, and then tend to anything he might be afflicted with before we look into things. What do you think?”
“I think that’s a wise choice, Obe.”
As he and his wife leaned on each other, Oberon couldn’t stop himself from staring at the boy before him. He felt... attached to him in some way. Like he needed to protect this boy from the demons who had made him into whatever he was now. It was strange, especially for a fairy like himself, to care so much for a human; let alone a child. Not to mention his curiosity. There were so many questions yet to be answered: Who he was, where he came from, how he got to be this way. All would be revealed in time, he knew that much. One thing was for certain though: This boy was surely going to be something special.
The Man in Black: Prologue
Under the cover of darkness and shade of the tree, a figure sat atop a large branch, longingly staring up into the starry night sky above. The full moon shone brightly, faintly illuminating the environment around him. He sighed in relief and satisfaction. Another long day of work had ended and he could now enjoy the view.
“Having fun?” came the voice in his head.
The figure smiled. “Yeah.”
He could feel the voice sharing his enjoyment.
“They are certainly a sight to behold. Once we finish this job, maybe we’ll get to see them up close.”
“That would be nice.”
Suddenly, the figure’s phone buzzed in his pocket. He pulled it out to check it. The alarm he had set all those months ago to remind him about today finally appeared. He looked back up on the screen to confirm the date and time. Midnight; Tuesday, February 23, 2021. It was no trick. Today was now the figure’s birthday. At last, he was another year older. Hell, it hadn’t even sunk in yet that it had now also been a full decade since-
“Even though this human concept is meaningless to me; happy birthday my friend!”
The figure slightly jumped at the unexpected interruption to his thoughts.
“Th-thank you.”
“Sorry. Didn’t mean to come out so abruptly there.”
The figure shrugged. “It’s fine. I was just caught up thinking about-”
“How it’s been a full decade since you were last human? Yes. I’m fully aware, being inside your head and all.”
The figure snorted slightly as he nodded. Having a voice that shared your thoughts was definitely a fun experience to be sure.
“But even I have to admit,” the voice continued, “it’s weird how a lot of major events in your life seem to revolve around your birthday particularly. Fate sure has a funny sense of humor now, doesn’t it?”
The figure grunted in agreement. It certainly was interesting how much fate played a part in his life on this specific date. Especially considering how significant it was to him. After all, that was the day that everything changed. Without it, he wouldn’t have become the man he is now. And as he gazed back up towards the stars, he couldn’t help but think back to it. How so much could’ve changed if he had died all those years ago, and how much things would’ve changed if his parents had left him to rot.
“Farewell, Mr Rofocale”
Written by PJ Artama
It was a dim morning. The clouds covered the sky, blotting out the usual warm sun and causing the rest of the temperature to drop. The trees swayed with the cold gust of wind as Kay made her way up to the quarry where Zachriel fell. She carried a wreath of flowers in her arms, wearing all black clothes, save for the golden Luueth’dei Family emblem and the now recently added ruby red Rofocale Family emblem dangling from her necklace, and was trying her absolute best to hold back her tears as she approached the water.
She finally reached the edge of where her best friend had fallen and died and rested the wreath of flowers on the walkway before it. She took a step back but never once took her eyes off of the place where Zachriel met his end.
“I don’t know whether or not you’ll hear this,” she spoke aloud, “but I’d like to just say a few things. Firstly, I read the letter,” she spoke aloud, “and I got the gifts you sent me. Thank you for entrusting me with them. I promise I’ll take care of them. Especially your journal. I’ll make sure that Bobbie gets it back.”
A light wetness started to drip down from the sky, making little wet marks on the wood and little vibrations in the water.
“Secondly, thanks to the money you left me… I’m thinking of planning and building my own Library sometime soon. Isn’t that cool? I’m thinking of purchasing the land near to the quarry and putting it there. Closer to you. I’m not sure what to call it yet, but I want it to be a good name. One that maybe you’d approve of. And… I’m planning on dedicating it to you, because you’re my best friend. You changed my life and taught me so much about the old world and the memories of others… I can’t thank you enough for that.”
She could see and feel the spitting start to become a light rain. The vibrations in the water were starting to become more noticeable.
“And lastly, I want you to know that… and if I can be honest here… it’s been hard… to accept you’re gone. I spent the first month crying myself to sleep, screaming in anguish and wishing it was all a dream. That… That you’d come out of the water and I’d see you by my bed once again. I cursed the heavens above, I cursed the Hethe, I cursed anything I could out of grief. It was probably the worst time of my life. If it wasn’t for my family, Nicholas, Cadmus and Ka’rai especially… I’m not sure if I could’ve coped...”
She tightly clutched the Rofocale emblem around her neck to try and force herself to not cry, feeling the lump in her throat as the light rain still kept going.
“And listen… I… I want you to know that… I miss you every single day… and there’s not a moment where I… don’t sometimes cry myself to sleep… when I think of you and… and all of the things we did t-together over the years… from the day I met you… t-to the night I lost you. I-I’ll never forget those times we shared… and they’ll… th-they’ll be with me… f-f-forever…”
She took off her glasses and put her hand over her eyes as she started crying. Her lips trembled as the tears rolled down her cheeks.
“…I-I-I’ll… never forget you… my friend. N-never.”
She cried by herself for a few more minutes as the rain started to increase. She eventually grabbed a handkerchief, wiped her eyes dry and blew her nose. As she opened them, for a split second she thought she saw Zachriel standing in front of her, smiling at her. But as soon as she blinked, he was gone. She stared for a bit at the spot where he was seemingly standing, wondering what that was before remembering the rain coming down on her and she knew she had to go. She began walking away from the walkway but as she got to the gate to leave, she looked back to the water and the flowers she left behind one last time and smiled tearfully.
“Goodbye… and farewell… Mr Rofocale.”
And with that, she turned back around and left the quarry, clutching the Rofocale emblem once more in her hand as the rain poured down from above.
The Taveril’domaine Trip: Chapter 1 - At The Door
Written by PJ Artama (in collaboration with ThatJunkieFinn and Penthepoet)
Upon arriving in the famed Dekn city of Taveril’domaine with Zachriel and his bodyguards, Valek and Branuul, Ka’yel was hit with a wave of nostalgia. The tall city towers, the bustling streets filled with Dekn men and women and children, and the various districts they walked past. It was like she never left home. She had spotted a few changes here and there since she left to stay in the Library, but overall, it was mostly how she remembered it.
After hours of searching and finally settling into their temporary residence, word had reached them that even though it had been around a month or so since the door first appeared outside the city on May 15th, there were already rumors being spread around about the door. Some were saying that the door had actually opened and something on the other side got out. Some said the Arkn had summoned the gods and as a result caused the appearance of the door. True or false, these were just rumors. You had to be up close and personal to see the truth for yourself. But after Marchosias Aversen released his propaganda video to the Dekn population, no one dared to go anywhere near the door.
When Ka’yel heard this, she immediately understood what this was. She had learned enough from her father and from various historical books about using scare tactics. She also gleaned enough about the Master of Beguilement and Debauchery himself to know that this video was just a ruse. A ploy to get people to stay away from the door so he could take control over the door and do Hethe knows what with it. She assumed it involved his “Society” somehow. She knew better of course. They all did. Anyone with logic and common sense could see right through the facade he was putting up and how much of an egotistical son of a bitch he was. Despite the warnings and threats, his shitty propaganda video was not going to stop them from seeing the door.
The day finally arrived and they all walked together out of the city and towards the door. Ka’yel was feeling butterflies in her stomach and looked more nervous in contrast to Zachriel’s confidence as he led the charge. It stemmed less from fear and more excitement at finally being able to see the door. She knew that Zachriel was feeling the same way, he just had more experience in not showing it. Many things were running through her mind; what would it be like? What would they find there? Had Marchosias already gotten his greedy hands on the door? Would she have a chance to touch it? She didn’t know. All she could think about at that moment was keeping herself together despite growing more anxious with every step closer.
The door was near in sight. Its shiny golden surface was dazzling brightly in the sun, decorated with beautiful symbols, runes, and gems that too sparkled with the sunlight. It was breathtaking. As they got closer, however, she could see a group of people gathered around the door. They appeared to be… worshipping it. All of them were wearing various robes, dresses, suits, and outfits of all shapes and sizes... all of them coated in a signature purple and white color scheme. She had assumed correctly, they were members of the Society of the Purple Rose and she immediately knew that this was not going to be good.
Some of these figures leading this worship looked up and saw them approaching, immediately causing one of them to point to some Purple Rose guards and gesturing them in their direction. These guards nodded and began to intercept them. Upon seeing this, Zachriel silently told everyone to stop and wait and see what these guards wanted from them. Slowly, the guards arrived. They were ornate with brilliant purple-colored silk undergarments and shining silver armor, images of purple roses carved into the metal, and more. Their horns on their helmets supremely menacing in appearance and holding weapons at their side. She had to hand it to them, they at least had some style.
The guard in charge stepped forward.
“Turn back strangers.” It was a woman’s voice.“This door is currently in use by the
Society of the Purple Rose as declared by the God-Emperor Elucidis himself. Henceforth, you all are not permitted to approach it beyond this point. Turn around now and return back to the city.”
“When will it be available to be seen alone?” Zachriel inquired.
“Ah, not for a while I’m afraid as our God-Emperor has exclusively booked us here for three months.”
They all stood there with a look of surprise and frustration.
“Three months?!” exclaimed Zachriel.
“That is correct.”
“Are you fucking kidding me?”
“I am not. I apologize if you wished to see the door right this second, but this is the situation. I must now ask you again to leave.”
“Who in Hethe’s name needs to book a door for three months? Ka’yel angrily exclaimed, “It’s in the public domain, why is it being used privately by you?”
“As I have explained, it is our God-Emperor’s will that this happen. The door is a sign of his power and he has now ensured that we stay by it at all times.”
“Bullshit. Marchosias Aversen is just using its sudden appearance to manipulate you into believing he made it appear and scaring everybody away so that your cult can worship it without interruption.”
“How dare you call the Society of the Purple Rose a cult!”
“Then what are you then?” Ka’yel yelled as she pushed past Zachriel to the front. “A peace-loving charity that believes in the power of Elucidis who believes that all will be well if you give in to him? Don’t give me that crap. This “society” is nothing more than a fabrication created in the mind of a twisted monster in the body of a man. You’ve been lied to. Conditioned to follow him and his so-called “beliefs”. He’s using you to get what he wants.”
The guards drew their blades out towards her and she took a step back in shock.
“Blasphemer!” she yelled. “You dare to speak against our great God-Emperor and his chosen few?! He has saved us all from our darknesses. He foretold this event was to come and he would guide us to a better world. You are misguided to ignore him. Who do you think you are coming here to tell us such lies?”
Ka’yel suddenly felt Valek and Branuul on either side of her, both of their arms crossed.
“That’s my secretary you’re talking to, ma’am,” came Zachriel’s low angered voice from behind them, “and I do not appreciate you pointing your weapons at her. If you so much as lay a finger on her, there will be consequences. I will be damned to let you harm her in any way!”
His eyes flashed a deep orange-red at the guards, causing them to take a step back before he took a deep breath and calmly spoke again.
“Excuse me for my sudden outburst. Now, let us put our differences aside and maybe we can negotiate a way to see the door today.”
The guards looked at him, thought for a moment and they soon lowered their swords from Ka’yel’s throat. But they didn’t put them away.
“Very well,” said the head guard, looking back at Ka’yel. “I apologize, Miss. I forgot some people just don’t understand our God-Emperor and his ways and I am a very devout believer in him. I must continue to control my emotions as he would scold me for not saving face.” She turned back to Zachriel. “As for negotiating, I’m afraid I must insist that it is not going to be possible.”
“Listen, ma’am,” said Zachriel, once again taking the front, “we are on a tight schedule at the moment as we are only going to be in Taveril’domaine for a few days and we don’t have any other time to spare to come back another time. Least of all three months. So, we’d greatly appreciate it if we could get a closer look at the door right now.”
“Again, I’m sorry, but we cannot allow that.”
“Why not? We’re only here to see the door up close. We swear we won’t disturb the society’s prayer time and we’ll keep our mouths shut while we examine the door. Won’t we?” Everybody in the group nodded. “I don’t see why that should be so harmful?”
“Uh, w-well…” the guard stuttered. “It’s… it’s b-because your presence has an effect on everyone else. W-we need the space to um… concentrate without sensing others than ourselves.”
“Well, surely if we went to the other side of the door we’d be fine right? You’d still have your space and there’d be a door between us and your lot. Better yet, we can stand at a distance behind that door and you’d still have your space. Everybody wins.”
“W-well, n-no. I-”
“Furthermore, I am Zachriel Rofocale, the Dekn Lord of Memories and Devastation. I have more knowledge on things relating to the Old World than most and I must glean some insight and more information about this door so it may be preserved on the shelf of my library, and you are blocking my path to see it.”
“Uh, w-well n-now...”
Ka’yel noticed that the guard seemed to be sweating and stammering a lot. Something wasn’t right here.
“You can tell it, can’t you?” she telepathically said to Zachriel. “It’s more than just scaring people away. They’re hiding something.”
“Yes, and they’re not doing a good job at hiding it,” he replied.
“So, what’s the plan?”
“I’m working on it. I didn’t expect to have to deal with cultists today.”
The guard cleared her throat.
“L-look, Mr. Rofocale, or whoever you are. I understand your humble desire to see this door, but we have our orders, and I’m afraid we’re going to have to escort you from this area by force.”
Suddenly, Ka’yel was struck by a brilliant idea.
“I’ve got this one,” she telepathically said to Zachriel.
She looked directly at the guards.
“No, you’re not,” she said.
The guards all looked at her once more with a look of disdain on their faces this time.
“Excuse me?”
“You heard me,” she said as she walked up to the front once more. “You are instead going to take us to the door right now or I’ll cause more problems for you.”
The guards laughed upon hearing that.
“You’ll cause more problems if we don’t take you to the door? What, in the name of our God-Emperor Elucidus, makes you think you can order us around?”
“Well, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Ka'yel Luueth'dei of House Luueth'dei,” she said as she reached under her shirt, pulled out her Luueth'dei emblem necklace, and held it up for the guard to see.
"If the name Luueth'dei rings any bells, you'll know that I am related to Mastema Luueth'dei, the Dekn Master of Dreams and Nightmares whom you may also find works alongside Alastor Andromalius, the Dekn Master of the Gallows, who I'm sure would find it very interesting to see what it is you all are doing and hiding from the rest of the world. After all, your “Society” still has to abide by certain Dekn laws set in place, right?"
She got right up into the head guard's face.
"So, unless you and your Purple Rose friends want me to ensure you receive a visit from the Master of the Gallows, you will take myself and my posse closer to see this door. Is that clear?"
The guards stood in stunned silence at her half-truth. She hoped it would be enough to get them through. The head guard nodded, closed her eyes, and stood there for a few minutes, then finally opened them to face Ka’yel’s.
“We will… escort you to be at a closer distance to the door. About 2-3 yards, no more.
You will also be given a short time to look upon it. I’d suggest you gather your notes quickly.”
They all nodded and they were quickly escorted to their destination.
The site of the door was more beautiful than anything Ka’yel could’ve imagined. Even from a distance of 2-3 yards, she could somewhat hear the distant whispers of the Hethe. She was making so many notes, she feared she might run out of ink in her pen. But she had to get everything she could see down. It was the only chance she had. Zachriel was intensely analyzing it. Making sure he recorded every single observation into his memory as well as reminiscing a bit. The Old World symbols, she imagined, probably reminded him of home. It was a nice, yet sad thing as well. However, their time there soon came to a halt and they were forcefully removed from the distance and were told to be on their way. They had done it. Though they were not as close enough to touch it, their allowed proximity was enough to satisfy her.
Hours after the incident, Ka’yel, Zachriel, Valek, and Branuul were all sitting together at a table in a restaurant close by to where they were staying. Testrath’s Cuisine it was called. It had a nice atmosphere. Calm, yet loud at the same time with its rich architecture and design. It brought people together. Ka’yel used to come here sometimes to enjoy a nice meal and to simply read and write at a table in a corner. Taking a bite out of her Ata’karai curry had warm memories flooding her mind. Oh Hethe, how she missed this.
“Well, that was quite a trip,” Zachriel said as he took a bite out of his Onsapur curry.
“Tell me about it,” Ka’yel remarked, “those cultists were absolutely up to something back there.”
“Indeed. Nice job threatening them by the way.”
Ka’yel shrugged. “Well, I had to get us to the door somehow because nothing else was working.”
“And you did a great job at it. Didn’t she guys?”
Valek and Branuul, both eating, nodded in agreement before returning to their plates of food. Ka’yel smiled.
Zachriel took a few more bites out of his curry in annoyance.
“Sadly, I had hoped we’d be right up to see it. But, no. Marchosias and his fucking purple flower cult had to get there first.”
Ka’yel sighed. “Yeah. And what really ticks me off the most, is that he’s gotten everyone convinced that the door is dangerous so that he can use it to further his own gain and worship. Furthermore, those people who “worship” him are out of their minds!”
“The bastard has a way with people, that’s for damn sure.”
“And not the good kind of way,” Ka’yel said before returning back to her meal.
“Regardless of him,” Zachriel continued, “whatever that part of the cult is hiding seems very important and detrimental if it were discovered by a member of the public.”
“It must have some relation to the door I would assume.”
“My thoughts exactly. And it’s making me more curious about the door and what could be behind it as a result. Argh, I want to know so badly!”
"Same here. I just wanted to touch it initially, but now there are more questions surrounding it. Hethe above, it's so frustrating not being able to get close enough to touch it."
"Exactly! And very unsatisfying too."
Zachriel then sighed. "But with them in the way, guarding that door like there's no tomorrow from all sides, I guess we'll never know."
Ka'yel sighed and took another bite out of her curry.
"Yeah… As much as the thought of trying to sneak by them sounds cool, it could cause more problems for us if we did and were caught."
She then looked at her notebook filled with her somewhat rushed handwritten notes on the door. Thank goodness it was still legible enough to read.
"At the very least, we have enough information from what we could get to do an analysis on it and write a book about it."
"Very true," Zachriel agreed. "I wish we had more. But this will certainly suffice."
“What could you discern about it?”
Zachriel put his spoon down and thought for a second.
“Obviously, it’s unnatural. Even though we were still at a distance, I could still hear those whispers that were mentioned. It’s just as the rumors say, that’s the tongue of the Hethe coming through. So, I’d have to imagine they had a hand in this door’s appearance. To how much extent that was, I have no idea.”
“You seemed to recognize some of those symbols on the door.”
Zachriel chuckled. “That I did. There were only a few of them that I could discern their meaning, and plenty of them were very unknown to me. But there’s no denying that they were all definitively Old World symbols.”
“Did it remind you of home somewhat?”
Zachriel initially seemed hesitant to answer, but eventually, he nodded and looked down at what remained of his Onsapur curry. Ka’yel immediately felt guilty.
“I-I’m sorry Zachriel. I didn’t mean to-”
He put a hand up to interrupt her.
“It’s fine Kay. I’m just… thinking a bit. Seeing those symbols made me nostalgic. Like I was back home in Elysia again. I felt happiness, joy, things I hadn’t felt in a long time. Yet it also made me feel… sad, and... alone. Being here in this new world, it all still feels... surreal, you know? To know you’re one of the last living remnants of a world long past… that the home you once knew, your friends, and your... family… are all gone now… and you’re still here… carrying their memories… until you’re gone too…”
His voice trailed off somewhat as tears formed around his eyes. He put his face in his hands and silently cried for a moment.
Ka’yel immediately got out of her chair, moved past Branuul, and sat right next to Zachriel. Without hesitation, she pulled him into her arms, then wrapped them around him to comfort him as tears started to form around her eyes as well.
“Oh, Zachriel. I’m sorry. I’m so so sorry.”
Zachriel eventually wrapped his arms around Ka’yel and they sat there like that for another minute or so until Zachriel pulled away from her, sniffed, and then took a deep breath in to calm down.
“I’m okay now, Kay. Thank you,” he said as he wiped his tears away. “I’m not sure what I’d do without your help sometimes.”
Ka’yel smiled and wiped her own tears away.
“Now then, I’m not feeling like eating the rest of my curry at the moment. So, if anyone else is not feeling hungry either I think we’ll all leave a tab for the fine people who provided this delicious cuisine and be on our way. What do you think guys?”
Everybody at the table nodded.
“Very well. Let’s head on back then.”
And as the sun was starting to set, they all paid for their food and left the restaurant full and more cheerful than they were when they entered and made their way back to their residence in Taveril’domaine.
Introducing Kay Luuedei (or Ka’yel Luueth’dei). Mother of Cadmus Renn and Secretary of Zachriel Rofocale.
Introducing a character I am so excited for in the future. His outfit is one of the coolest designs I’ve done in a while.
A better look at my current background image. A remake of a previous version I did. The characters are my own OCs. Left to Right: Abisio, Nevan, Cameron and Razi. Honestly could do better with this header image and I plan on doing another one in the future, but I love it for what it is now.
Working out the photo system. Made these a few days ago. Red one is for a friend. Yellow one is for me. I’m pretty happy with how these turned out.
