#authormode

[laketaj24]

I did it!!! #nanowrimo +50,000 words completed in one month!!! ✍🏾💪🏾#authormode#writingcommunity #indieauthor (I’m taking a two day break, this book isn’t even finished yet, long one coming for y’all!)

[bangtanfluffyangel-blog]

CHAPTER 2: MEET THE DEVIL

Y/N POV

You were just standing there, while staring Min Yoongi walk away from you. Everyone was right, he really is scary, truth is, his presence is enough to scared anyone, but his voice, his deep voice is even more scarier than his presence.But i really don't know why, I'm not not scared at him.There's something about Min yoongi, and I'm more curious to know what is that.

...

You opened your room, only to see the worried face of your friends.

Yah!! Where the hell have you been Y/N!! Zoe  said as soon as i enter our room.

Yes.. where have you been!! We've been looking for you!! Your not even answering our calls!! Zarah said

Oooh!! Sorry girls.. my phone was in Silent mode. i was just walking around the school.

Are you sure?? Zoe asked

Yup... Nothing to worry about, plus you know, i can take care of myself.i said as i change my dress into something comfortable.

Yeah i know that,, but still your just a girl.what if you met someone dangerous like---

MIN YOONGI? i said to Zarah

Y-yeah.. Zarah said

W-well I really met Min Yoongi a while ago. i said

What!!!! Zarah and Zoe said

uh-huh!! And as you can see, I'm still alive.i said while i'm removing my make-up

And what? Did he do something to you? Zoe said

Aigoo.. I would't be here with you, if he did.i said

Are you serious Y/N? Are you sure he didn't do something something to you?Zarah said

Aside from telling me to stay away from him or else he'll kill me.He didn't do anything dangerous.

W-what!!! Are you crazy Y/N.Zoe said

hahaha.. You two look cute! I said as i put my face mask. And you know what i realize when i met Min Yoongi.

what? Zoe ans Zarah said

He's not that dangerous. hes just rude.i said that made Zarah and Zoe's face grumpy

Ohh shut up Y/N., and stay away from that Min Yoongi guy!!! they said.

hahahaha.. let's sleep girls, the class will start tomorrow, and i don't want to be late on the first day of class. I said as i remove my mask and closed my eyes.

Zarah and Zoe staop talking. I  guess they also decided to sleep.

..........

Senior Year First Day.. I know this year will be more stressful, than ever but I'm ready. You said as soon as you enter the classroom.You immediately sit towards the chair beside Zoe and Zarah.

Where have you been girl? Zoe asked me

I just drop by st the library to get some books that i need.

I heard that were having a new teacher.Zarah said

Sounds interesting.you said while scanning my books

It really is sounds like the first day of class, because of them are chatting like they've never seen each other for years.even Zoe and Zarah are talking like that.So you just let my self busy scanning ,the books you've got from the library.

But you was curious when of the buzzing and chatting suddenly turned into a deep silence. So you decided to look who causes this silence.

But you were froze in your seat when you you finally saw who cause the silence in your class.

M-MIN YOOONGI our eyes met as he walk towards me.

You was just staring at him as he walk closer to you, you were wondering if you did something wrong? Is he here to kill you, like what he said last night.But you were relieve when he just pass  towards you and seated on a chair behind you.You took a deep sigh as you realize that he just going to be your classmate starting today.

W--wait!!! something popped in your mind.

You and MIn Yoongi is going to be classmates!!! You don't know why somehow it gives you so much happiness.I'm going to see the devil yoongi everyday how bad could it be. you said to your self as you see your classmates frowning yet something inside you is celebrating.

..........

Worst school year ever... you heard one of your classmates said after the class

You were about to answer them but Zoe and Zarah pulled you away.

OHHh!! Min Yoongi as our classmate!? Well expect the worst!! Zoe said

Min Yoongi is our class!! My whole semester is doomed!!! Zarah said

Seriously!! You two looks funny.And what's wrong with having him in our class?

LIke duH!!! Y/N he's the school's devil!! Everyone in this school fears him,he looks like a grim reaper that will take your soul in one wrong move. Zoe said

Well he doesn't look scary for me at all,he's just an average guy.The only problem is, he'a always alone.

OOhh!! Your getting weirder and weirder everyday Y/N!!  ZOe said

And you seem to very interested in that Min Yoongi guy, the way you defend him, seems to be very suspicious! Zarah said

well-- no comment!! you said to them as you enter the library

Y/N'S POV

You were in the library, scanning the papers you doing when you remember what happen in your class earlier. Having him as a classmates scares everyone. But i keep on wondering why a part of me is happy about it,When your eyes met, you feel strange.There is really something about Min Yoongi. Everybody is scared to him, and i don't know while i don't. When i hear his voice in my ear that night. I feel no fear but longing.

Where the hell is that book! You said to yourself while your trying to find the book you need.

Ohh there you are!! you said when you found the book in the corner of the library.But you accidentally pushed the other books to fall on the other side of the shelves.

Ahhh!!! i heard voice at the back of the shelves so i hurriedly check who was it to apologize.

I-I'm sorry!! I said as i pick up the books.

But i was too late to realize who was it.Because of a hard arm suddenly gripped my arm.

Do you really want to die! he said

And the moment i heard that voice, i know i'm doomed.

Who gives you the right to disturbed me, whenever you want it!?

Yah!! it was just an accident you said as you try to pull your hands.

You're brave! he said and smirked

Let this be your final warning. MIn Yoongi said as he pulled you to him and whispers in your ear.

Stay away from me, before i lose my patience with you.he said then let you go

Aish!! Rude Devil! you said as you pick the books on the floor

...

After putting the books back.you hurriedly  get your things and run towards your classroom for the next class.You were just on-time because the teacher came right after you.Everyone is concentrating on the lesson trying to ignore the fact that Min Yoongi is in the same class.

Okay class.. I will now give you your project this semester. And you know that i have a high expectations in this class. The topic will be given after you chose your partner.And to be fair the  i have this two fish bowls here with me, each of the bowls have the names of the ladies and boys. So don't ever think that its not fair. our adviser Ms. Torres said.And class, take note that your partner today will be your partner in every activity for the rest of this semester.

You can see the frightened faces of your classmates knowing that one of us can be paired to Min Yoongi.And you can see the joy on their faces every time their names are paired with someone else.

Ohh My what if my name is called with Min Yoongi.. Zarah whispered to you

I' scared too. Zoe whispers to you too

You was about to answer them when your teacher calls out another name.

KIM Y/N!! and her partner is!

As soon as you hear the name, you started to have goosebumps.

M-I-N Y-O-O-N-G-I!!

He is going to be my partner until the end of the semester! I really dont know if I'm scared or i'm happy about it! you said to your self.You can really feel that Min Yoongi is looking at your back.

...

Ohh my god Girl what are going to do? Zoe asked me as we enter our dorm.

You think your gonna be okay? Zarah asked me

Of course i am! you said as you lie on your bed

Truth is! I really want him to be my partner in the place. you said as you put your earphones.

WHAAAT!!!!! Zoe and Zarah both said

...............

KOREAN DYASTIES

That was the topic that was given to me and Min Yoongi. I already started the plot of the project so I want to talk to Yoongi about it, but i really can't find him, he even ditch the class. Is he avoiding me?

whaa!! jinjja!! You said as you look for him.

I've searched the whole SHS ground but there's no trace of him,. I even went to the Achilles Dorm, but he's no where to be found. He really want me to do this whole project alone?!!

I can't take this anymore. I need to release this stress i'm having because of that jerk, So i climbed the rooftop of the school building.

.......

I entered the rooftop and angrily and walk towards the edge of the roof.

YAH MIN YOONGI!!!! WHERE ARE YOU STUPID JERK!!!!!! IF YOU DON'T WANT TO HELP ME DO THIS PROJECT THEN ITS FINE WITH ME!!! BUT DONT EXPECT ME TO INCLUDE YOU NAME IN THAT PROJECT!!

ARGHH!!!! I HATE YOU!!!!

........

I took a deep breath after that release!! But you were shocked when someone talk to your back.

Who gives you the right to shout here?!

You didn't manage to look who was it. It was Min yoongi!!

And most especially , who gives you the right to shout my name and cursed me!! he said  to me while pushing to the wall

LET ME GO!! you said and pushed him but he was stronger to you, and kept you pinned at the wall.

YOU REALLY WANT TO DIE HUH!! he said to me

ARE YOU STUPID!! OF COURSE I DON'T WANNA DIE, WHY DO YOU ALWAYS ASKED THAT TO ME!! FIRST OF ALL, I'M NOT LOOKING AT YOU BECAUSE I WANT TO DIE OR SOMETHING, I'M LOOKING FOR YOU BECAUSE I WANT TO GIVE THIS TO YOU!! you said as you put the folder at his chest.

DO YOU EXPECT ME TO DO THIS PROJECT ALL BY MY SELF?! HUH YOU WISH!! TAKE THAT AND DO IT!! AND GIVE IT TO ME TOMORROW!! DO THAT OR ELSE I'LL KILL YOU!! you said and pushed him really hard and leave him at the rooftop.

...........

After  closing the door of the rooftop, you run as fast as you can.Just  in case that Min Yoongi followed you.You really don't know, where did you get the courage to talk to him that way, you felt scared yet happy that you said what you wanted to say.

MIN YOONGI'S POV

Y/N  left me after saying, everything she needed to say. I was left shocked after hearing she said. She talks like a jet.For the longest time, somebody dared to talk back to me. I picked the papers that fell from the folder. She even ordered me to do this thing, and warned me. You haven't change a bit Y/N.You still rock me by saying nonsense thing as if i'll get scared by it.you said while smirking

END OF CHAPTER

[alexcasper]

View this post on Instagram

Hey @dav_pilkey , my son is so obsessed with your books, he decided he wants to be an author... I promised him if he can work hard enough and focus, I would help him publish his first book on August 9th of this year... 6.5 year old author!!!—— If you could find 3 seconds to give him a shout out, it would mean the world to him... if not no worries, I told him if you didn’t the universe will make a 6.5 year old out sell his idol!!! No pressure!... #wearethecaspers #vloglife #authormode

[aaronryuchi]

Worldbuilding|World-dancer

The second short piece I’m doing a Worldbuilding piece on! World-dancer covers a loooot of mReality worldbuilding stuff so I might go over some in pretty scant detail but you can always contact me to find out more! Also, some things weren’t reaaaally thought out but still... Let’s get right into it.

Read World-dancer here!

The In-Between

The In-Between is more commonly known as the Thaumatic Realm in the field of thaumatic science. On different planets in the Sreite ring it is also called the Flipside, the Faewyld, the Conceptual World, and the Aether. No matter the planet though, there are some commonalities to the Thaumatic Realm (TR).

In the TR, concepts, ideas, and emotions hold sway over reality instead of hard scientific laws. Minds and wills become objects in the TR. The landscape is determined by metaphysical concepts like percepted reality and desired forms.

In World-dancer, Alethia travels to many different planets by ‘pulling’ the TR to move herself. This is one way that will alone can manipulate the fabric of the TR. It is a similar case with her wings and her magical clothes. Alethia is a special case when it comes to the TR though…

Alethia

Alethia’s ability to ‘crinkle’ reality is an extremely rare phenomenon in the mReality. One theory goes that she was born with a quirk of magic similar to Flawsight, and it manifested when she first found a stress point between the Material and Thaumatic Realms. This would also explain why she could so easily learn to manipulate the fabric of the Thaumatic Realm. Her special ability also uses far less energy and is more controlled, in contrast to the violent tear in reality created by that other world-dancer.

Alethia came from Gaesyra, which seems to be the planet with the highest number of extreme magical events like GLB ascensions and reality wounding. Simply something to keep in mind.

The Triumvirate

A trio of Gaesyran deities, Triumvirism is the most popular belief system on Gaesyra. Triumvirists believe Kaeus, the god of destruction, death, chaos, entropy, fire, Urdil, god of order, creation, life, stability, ice, and Fate, the ruling goddess that rules over time and the lines of every existence’s life.

Triumvirism holds that everything in existence is caught between chaos and order, and the interplay and interactions between those two opposites drives reality. Fate sets out a path, which Kaeus and Urdil unknowingly follow.

The Water Planet

This place hasn’t been thought about much. Mostly there for effect. It supposedly has a core of unmelting ice with some super powerful magic that makes the water far more reactive to gravity, causing extreme tidal shifts that literally reshape the planet.

The Crystal Planet

Like the water planet, this place isn’t built up much, once again for effect. The crystals existing there are literally solidified magic, enough energy existing within a single 50g crystal to level a city… I guess. It isn’t clear why magic crystallises on this desolate helhole.

(Yes the ‘hel’ was intentional.)

The Three-sun Planet

Dimillos! A planet caught in a stupidly irregular orbit with three suns, the surface of Dimillos is so hot that it’s only desert and rock, some places even melting into glass. Deep beneath the surface, there are enormous caverns that life has evolved in. These caves are so huge that entire cities and oceans can form.

The presence of thaumatic potential crystallised into a volatile substance known as Potentis drives a lot of conflict on Dimillos. Technologies and tyrannies have sprung up around Potentis and the industry. While the amount of energy within a Potentis crystal is not as much as a crystal on the helhole planet, it is still considerable.

Oh and there’s steampunk magitech demon cities here. It’s pretty cool. Kinda shitty to live on though.

The Dark Planet

The dark planet where the demon-like creatures chasing Alethia come from is Tejhen, in the same system as Eisiomn from Avalina in the Void. It is the second planet from the star. However, in between the first planet (Ciphill) and rest of the system is an enormous existence known only as the Malfeasance. The Malfeasance is a being that looks like black, organic sludge encased in thick smog, and forms a huge sphere around Ciphill and the star.

Tejhen exists stationary relative to a hole in the Malfeasance, thus has a day/night cycle unlike Eisiomn. For some reason as yet unknown (which means the author didn’t worldbuild it yet!) the TR around Tejhen has more Red Seeds than the rest of the system.

Red Seeds and ‘Demons’

Described as “red, organic cysts” by Alethia, these things are baby eldritch beings to put it simply. While called demons on Tejhen, they’re much worse. No one knows how or why Red Seeds spawn, but the way they function has been figured out.

When an emotion or concept comes into contact with a Red Seed in the TR, it is consumed by the Seed. The Seed then hatches into an eldritch demon embodying the emotion or concept that was imprinted. This is not dissimilar to Concepts on Ceoncire, in terms of embodying an idea or emotion.

An interesting note, on Tejhen, demons and angels are both actually eldritch creatures from Red Seeds. It all depends on the type of emotion or idea the Seed consumes before hatching. The Malfeasance seems to be an eldritch being along those lines, yet no demon from the Tejhen system has ever hinted at growing so large. Something weird is going on there…

[aaronryuchi]

World-dancer [YC]

So I’ve been working on the idea of the mReality for a time and then stumbled upon an old sentence I wrote. 

“She danced across worlds, an addict to the alien sights, never looking back at the havoc unleashed.”

Looking at this, I was like, Hey that’s a good idea for the mReality, and so ran with it, tweaked it a bit, and wrote a short story about dancing across worlds, the Thaumatic Realm, and a certain dark planet.

Worldbuilding notes here (click!)

Looking to critique? Click here!

WORLD-DANCER

The first world had been the hardest. After that, infinity was open to her. The trouble came when infinity let something else through.

* * *

It had begun when she first danced into a fold in reality’s fabric. An accident, really. Or was it destiny? Her mother believed in the Triumvirate - Kaeus, Urdil, Fate - but Alethia had never bought that. It was an infinitesimally small chance that she had found that fold, though. If she wasn’t of the worlds, or reality hadn’t crinkled in just the right spot, or…

She didn’t spend much time thinking about it. There were better things to muse on than the possibility of a god determining her destiny. Alien sights and skies, unbelievable creatures of all shapes and sizes, magical wonders deadly and beautiful. Things she would never have seen if she had stayed.

Her parents must have missed her, she had realised sometime as she moved in the worlds. She never cared. Never thought about it again.

* * *

She wished she had never visited that dark world. Her body ached from the running, her soul from the world-dancing. She could not stop.

They had chased her into the In-Between and would never stop.

* * *

Drifting through the fold had brought Alethia to the In-Between, or so she called it. She had heard her father talking with those academics down at the tavern sometimes about magic, realms, other worlds. They would probably have had an explanation for the In-Between.

She didn’t need explanations, just the freedom. No one told her what to do in the In-Between. There wasn’t anyone there to tell her what to do. She revelled in the purity of that freedom. It was as if she had been meant for this In-Between, she always thought, as if there always had been a hole in her soul that led to the space between worlds.

Back on her world, she had never been able to even shape a small spark of magic. In the In-Between, she could have flown. All she needed to do was learn, and in the In-Between she had all the time she could have wished for.

* * *

The dark planet, a world living on the edge of an immense horror, it had not been her first world. If it had been, she would have been dead.

* * *

Before the world-dancing, she had to learn how to move in the In-Between. Overheard conversations in tavern corners about magic and useless lessons in magic theory had helped, but ultimately it was on her own. She figured out the flicks of her wrists and fingers, the words and intonations, the patterns of movement that would pull and push the tenuous In-Between. With that, she had learnt how to reach all around, grab the potential, and simply watch as the space between worlds flowed around her.

The In-Between didn’t seem to follow the same rules as her world. It ran on a deeper, more primal sensibility, the type of reasoning that bled over magic to call it miracle. The kind of logic that burned in hearts and wants instead of minds and numbers.

Her heart wanted to fly, so she pulled at the In-Between until a spark tore off and formed wings. Not the terrible, broken wings she had once saw on a demon. Not the frightening, scaled wings she heard dragons possessed. No, her wings were feather and light, mixed with the soaring song that blazoned within her soul, illuminating the nonspace. Angel wings.

* * *

The things that chased her now had wings, at least some of them. Not twisted, but sickening. Not broken, but wrong. She feared they were demons. She should have feared they weren’t.

* * *

Flying and pulling through the In-Between, Alethia soon noticed as she crossed the borders between worlds. Not worlds, but the cosmic circles that worlds spun in. She had left her world-circle behind and entered another.

In the In-Between, she had noticed, the minds of people took on a distinctive glow. Each mind was a compressed storm boxed in by structures of magic, sending impulses through the skeletal wires of what she supposed was a soul. When she crossed to the other world-circle, the first thing she had looked for was the mind-storms.

She found them, the world with the minds. With the people. She wanted to explore that new world, so far from home. And so she pushed at the world, hoping to figure out how to crinkle existence. Perhaps she shouldn’t have. If she had never found out how to twist the world around her fingers, she would never have found the dark world.

Then again, she would never have escaped it either.

* * *

Whatever the dark world was, whatever it contained, she was afraid for more than just that. It had pulled her in against her will.

* * *

After that first world, a world locked into fire and ice, she had lost herself in the cosmos. Not every world had minds that surged like a person’s, but existence held more wonders than mere mortals. She saw a world submerged in water, bending and reshaping completely with the pull of the stars. She spent time in a tiny, frozen world at the edge of a world-circle containing caverns of pure, crystallised magic. She even saw a world caught up in a chaotic dance between three stars, though she didn’t spend much time there.

Alethia sometimes wondered why she never suffered when she stepped on these worlds. She didn’t know about how her clothes, pulled fabrics from the In-Between, had merged with her existence. She didn’t know about how she brought a little connection to that nonspace with her, pulling the energy to survive through that thread. She never wondered about that.

She began to keep notes on the worlds she danced across. Who they were for, even she didn’t know. Perhaps it was just a way to preserve wonder in words, fold the cosmos into pages. Creatures of magic bizarre and beautiful became lines of ink. Sights that would have destroyed the minds of mere mortals coalesced into crafted words.

If she could have seen herself as a whole, a true whole through time, she would have figured out why she wrote. Life makes little sense as it’s lived, after all. But that’s the only way humans exist.

* * *

Her notes were nowhere near the front of her mind as she ran from the things from the dark planet. Perhaps in time, she would add those horrors to her journal. For now, she ran.

* * *

Once, just once, she had seen someone else in the In-Between. They had burst into the nonspace between worlds in a cataclysm of magic and force, a tearing through reality that had no artistry to it. Alethia, her curiosity having been stoked by her exploration, had went to see what had happened.

As she got closer, she first noticed the fire. Flames of every shade burned in a corona around the visitor, arcs of fire that swirled and looped all the way back to the visitor. Whispered thoughts blazed in the burning patterns. Anger. Fear. Love. Hate. Desire. The essence of the other world-dancer laid bare. The power of the other world-dancer.

She had ran, afraid for her life. Whatever had happened to lead that other world-dancer into the In-Between didn’t matter in that moment. Only the sheer power, what could easily be termed as godlike.

* * *

If only all her encounters with beings with power of that magnitude had been so simple. The dark world she had visited terrified her, yes.

What the world lay beside chilled her to the core, grasped her soul with ice-cold terror. The mere memory of seeing that infinity of malice was enough to wake her from sleep. In the In-Between, she had glimpsed the truth of the horror for a mere moment.

Alethia could no longer remember what she had seen. Only the fear remained. It was enough.

* * *

The world-circle containing that dark planet had not been immediately horrifying when she first entered. A slight hum of fear, an undercurrent of terror, they permeated the In-Between in that world-circle. She was on guard as she pulled herself through the circle in exploration. Red, organic cysts floated throughout the world-circle, blips of colour ignored as she flew.

Someone else would have known what they were, what they meant. Unfortunately for Alethia, she was just herself.

She had soon crossed paths with the demons, for lack of a better word, and was readying herself to run. What she had seen - the forms that escaped description, the existences that inspired something worse than terror - had warned her. If she had simply fled…

But her curiosity was too strong, her failures too few, and she pushed onward.

* * *

They chase her now, crossing reality and the In-Between as easily as she does. Unlike her, they tear at the fabric, gashing painful holes to cross. Even the flaming existence had been gentler with their crossing.

She doesn’t know how to fight, so just keeps running. Flying. Pulling. A world-dancer, an existence tied into the In-Between, chased by creatures from a dark world. One shudders to think what those dark creatures, things worse than demons, want with her and her power.

One can only hope she eludes her pursuers, for the possibilities are grim for all existence.

[aaronryuchi]

Worldbuilding|Light and Void

So this is a new thing where I go into more depth about stuff I write about in short stories which I post here. Worldbuilding and stuff along those lines. I may or may not do these for older short stories? I dunno. And maybe I’ll do Worldbuilding for longform stories too.

Anyway, without further ado, this is...

The world of Light and Void

Light and Void is a series of short stories (so far) set in a world where an eldritch horror has covered almost the entire planet. Most of humanity lives in pockets of civilisation around sources of Light, a magical energy that is seemingly the only way to ward off the Void.

The world of Light and Void is named Eisiomn, and is part of the Sreite ring galaxy which the rest of the mReality is set in. (note: the mReality is the term for the worlds and realities that my connected fantasy stories take place in)

Light

Light is one of the two manifestations of thaumatic potential energy on Eisiomn, the other being the Void. Light is inherently tied to life on Eisiomn, likely tied to the structure of life in the Thaumatic Realm.

Light can be manipulated by living beings in a few ways. Primarily, living beings with mind can concentrate their Light into parts of their body. That part of their body will begin to glow at a brightness of 400 to 2000 lumens. When Light is concentrated into a body part, it becomes inimical to Voidones.

Secondly, Light can be transferred from being to being. A living being can gift their Light or part of their Light to another, resulting in a perfect transfer of that much Light. However, if the Light is taken by force, only a fraction will be gathered.

Finally, Light can be applied to injuries in order to heal them. This process takes time depending on the size and potential for death due to the wound.

Light, like mana, is a renewable quantity that is generated over time in a living being. Factors that affect the speed of Light generation are the amount of sustenance that being gets, their physical state, and their mental state.

Lightbearers

Lightbearers are select groups of people in each remaining society on Eisiomn who hold more Light than normal. This is due to donations of Light from their entire village or town. However, with this power, Lightbearers have an important task - to traverse the Void.

Lightbearers spend their days training in Void traversal, Light manipulation, survival, mapmaking, languages, and stealth. They spend almost the entirety of their waking hours from 6 years of age practicing their skills.

When necessary, Lightbearers are sent in groups of five into the Void. Their tasks include mapping out the areas around their settlement, communicating with other settlements, search/rescue, etcetera. They are the only reason human society as a whole has not fallen apart.

The Void

The other manifestation of magic on Eisiomn is wielded by the nameless eldritch being that has taken over most of the planet. Dubbed the Void, it is a consuming force that manifests in death and predatory beasts. 

While seemingly omniscient within the Voided areas, many Lightbearers have proven that it is possible to hide from the Voidones. This is an extremely important and difficult skill to master, though.

Void manifests as a ceaseless, dark fog in regions of space, swamping entire continents at times. In Voided areas, the moon is not visible from the ground. These areas are also dangerous for living beings to venture into without any excess Light. 

Thaumatically, Voided regions are volatile. Other than Light, magecraft does not seem to work properly. The dimensions of spacetime are also distorted, resulting in areas that seem bigger than they actually are.

A multiplicity of theories about the relationship between Light and the Void have popped up. No one knows if any of them are true, but one fact remains. The Void is hungry, and it feeds on Light.

Voidones

Twisted beyond their mortal limits, Voidones were once living beings that eventually succumbed to the Void. They are the main ways that the Void hunts and captures Light-carrying beings in Voided areas.

As mentioned earlier, Voidones were once living beings. However, their Light was drained entirely without killing them. Once this process has finished, the Void will mutate their biological and mental forms into horrific, ghastly caricatures of what they were before.

Voidones exhibit different magical capabilities, depending on what they were before. Some grow blades and spikes where feathers and fur were. Some gain the power of an insubstantial form. However, regardless of species, all Voidones have the ability to communicate in a garbled type of speech that has not been deciphered as of this moment.

However, Voidones are not invincible. So far, it seems that Light concentrated to an intensity of 600lm or higher is the only way to injure or kill Voidones. Testing has revealed that nonmagical armaments are nearly useless against Voidones. Magical offensives have not been possible so far.

It is unknown if it is possible to change a Voidone back into their base form. So far, the necessity of Light in human civilisations has made testing this impossible.

[aaronryuchi]

Shadowfire [YC]

So, I wrote this piece for a portfolio of mine a while back. Not sure how good it is, and I do want some feedback so here! Enjoy, hopefully, and reply with a comment or any constructive criticism if you wish!

If my mind doesn’t deceive me, I was merely twelve when I first saw the shadowfire. Black like ebony, it simply came into existence one morning as I cracked open my eyes. The snakelike flames didn’t give off heat, light, nor sound. When I asked my parents about it, they simply looked at me oddly. Quickly, I learnt to keep the shadowfire to myself.

I think I was thirteen when I found out what it did.

It happened in one of the alleyways around school. There was this kid, Gregor, if I’m not mistaken. A large guy with a vicious streak, he took to beating weak-looking guys - like myself - for a spot of extra cash. That day, as I was enjoying my complimentary beating, there it was, the shadowfire. My hand seemed out of my control as I reached toward it.

I’m not sure what I wished for that momentous day, but soon after, Gregor was lying on the ground, horror inscribed on his face. His arms and face were severely burnt, his screams piercing the air like breaking glass. There was a lot of panic before an ambulance was finally called, while I was dragged to the police for questioning. When I was finally released and went back to school, no one ever touched me again.

My next use of the shadowfire was during some exam. I was stuck on a math problem or something. This time, I formed a more coherent wish in my mind before reaching out for the shadowfire. I still remember that day like it was yesterday. The instant after I wished, ink blots began to spread across my paper and formed the answer as if by magic - which I guess it was. I think I lost five minutes of exam time due to my surprise.

It was that night that I realised I couldn’t feel my left arm. It wasn’t just numb, I couldn’t even feel where it was. When I poked it with a kitchen knife, blackish blood dribbled out, but it didn’t hurt. Not a single jolt of electric pain. The next few days are just a blur in my head, now, as most of my thoughts were focused on the shadowfire and my arm. I had begun to check my left arm was still attached to my body every few minutes.

After that, I didn’t touch the shadowfire for around a few months. It never went away, though. Every day, I saw it at the edges of my vision, just waiting for me to reach out again, to grasp that power once more. Trying to ignore it, I threw myself into my schoolwork, my social life, my extracurriculars. Inevitably, at the end of every day, the shadowfire was still there. Taunting me. Beckoning me. Trying to get me to reach out once again.

Now, it was around this time I met my first - and last - girlfriend. I’ve forgotten her name, and her face… But she was the nicest girl you’ll ever meet. Cute, funny, sassy, I always thought she was too good for me. We met at one of the parties I visited in an attempt to escape the shadowfire, and instantly hit it off. Retrospectively, it was likely just a hormone-driven crush which I rushed into, which should have been the first warning sign. But then, I’ve never been one to listen to warnings.

When she eventually left me, it was no one’s fault but my own. We argued about something, something irrelevant, but I had pigheadedly continued to fight with her over it. Soon after, she stormed out into a heavy downpour. I was devastated, guilty, and I felt like I had to fix it. Instead of chasing after her like a normal person, though, I just turned to the seemingly-omnipotent shadowfire.

Desperately, I reached out to that cold, lightless flame and wished. With all my teenage heart, I wished for her to come back to me.

At first, nothing seemed to have happened. Dispirited, I trekked back home in that horrible rain with nary a thought about the water soaking through my clothes and chilling my bones. Of course, in my self-pitying sadness, I didn’t notice the thump of an explosion. Naturally, I didn’t notice the two-ton truck, barreling towards me with two ruptured tires, sliding across the slick road.

And neither did I see her dash towards me to knock my sorry ass away from the truck’s path.

The shadowfire burned away all the sensations within my chest and left hand. I suppose the death of my ex-girlfriend should have hurt, especially since she was the one who saved me. Instead, all I could feel was this emptiness, as if part of my emotions had been seared to ash. Oh, I attended the funeral and all, it was very sad, but nothing stirred within my heart. Everything was bland, too, and the colours of the world had dulled, turning a shade greyer.

I’m positive that I knew the shadowfire wasn’t good for me at that point in time, but I really didn’t care. The immense power it gave me was just too good to resist, and sacrificing emotions or senses was a small price to pay. Again and again, I reached out for the shadowfire. Again and again, it burnt away more of my emotions and senses.

Now, I don’t think I’ll be able to go on much longer with the shadowfire’s wishes. My limbs… If I don’t look at them, I can easily lose track of where they are. I don’t feel any stimulus from most of my body - excluding my right thigh. My eyesight has weakened terribly, and there was barely any colour left in my vision. My hearing, taste and smell had all atrophied, with mere embers of my senses remaining.

I think I’ll be dying soon. Either that, or the shadowfire is going to consume more of me until I’m a insensate shell of a human, unable to feel nor sense. Which is worse, I don’t know, nor do I really care. As for the shadowfire, and what will happen to it… I have a plan.

I’m going to use the shadowfire once more, after I send this letter to… Whatever random address I pulled from the book. Hopefully, this causes the shadowfire to never resurface ever again. I think there’s a certain poetry to having the last use of this tool of destruction be to destroy itself, eh?

So, the end. Here’s where people usually leave some poignant last words, or something, isn’t it? I was never one for that kind of ending.

Goodbye, then, I guess. Goodbye, world.

[aaronryuchi]

About TCW

I’ve decided I may begin sharing chapters here too. Instead of sticking to posting only on WP.