#excerpts;

[heliinx]

Many years had passed since Queek was last in Skavenblight, but scent and memory took him to Gnawdwell’s private burrow quickly. There were no other skaven about. So much space! Nowhere else in all of Skavenblight would you be further from another skaven. Queek sniffed: fine food and well-fed slaves, fresh air pumping from somewhere. Gnawdwell’s palace disgusted him with its luxury.

Haley, Guy. The Rise of the Horned Rat (Warhammer Fantasy Book 4) . Black Library. Kindle Edition.

[lingeringnight]

After the 2908 Calamity, we returned to the Ark to wait.  We were welcomed, of course, after all we had done; and yet, this did not feel like kindness to us.  

The Calamity was the end of nearly everything we had known.  All of our home planets, and each and every one we had visited.  Such devastation is unthinkable, unfathomable, but this is now our reality.

Adhara and Xilheiya are each attempting to contact planets any of us have visited, as the destruction follows only this pattern.  So far, every one on the list has the same dismal ‘x’ marked by its coordinates.  Nevertheless, they continue to keep the flame of hope lit, albeit dimly and without fuel.

Nobujisa left to find a more permanent place to set down again.  He has sent reports on Astrax Ridge VI, Meissa Bell IV-a, Almaaz Crest I, Cross Veil, and an unmapped, unnamed star he has dubbed Superior Rest (with some irony, if one can glean the tone of his notes).  He includes a note of a star nearby Almaaz Crest called Illusoria Doppler.  It is easily understood why the name weighs heavily on him if one remembers his home star’s designation.  I think, perhaps, he feels personally responsible for all that has transpired.  We worry for him, but there was no stopping him from this mission; truthfully, we all balked at the idea of striking out on such heartbreaking terms.  Perhaps he will find his own resolve among the stars ere his mission is through.

We cannot recover what we have lost, but we can ensure that nothing of such magnitude ever happens again.  No... we will.

From the desk of 316 Roslav S., page 192 of Volume IX.

[aohlys]

Without remorse, the blade struck her. Staggering back, the little demoness held her chest tightly, looking up towards its wielder with watering eyes. A wash of panic passed through her, the air moving through her lungs and becoming haggard. Red hands became soaked with blood, and the pain seared through her like a flame shot from the sun. The chaos of the battle absolved as every eye turned towards the scene unfolding. The next few moments passed like an eternity. Her hands moved off the wound, coming back soaked not in the charcoal blood of the demons, but rather the golden ichor that passed only through veins of angels. Yet her confusion was short-lived before the rush of memories struck her with a force unequaled strength. And the room watched her erupt. Red skin cracked, her body quaking as light began to seep through every pore, vividly illuminating the room. There was a second, at first, where she began to only fall apart. Piece by piece, leaving only an ethereal creature without a figure or form - she was nothing but pure energy, light, and then, the blast. Only the Shadow King and the Heavenly Queen were able to remain on their feet, bracing against the storm. Lilith rose off the ground, shadows shivering out of her immediate as the brilliant light retreated. Her skin returned dark, tanned, while her hair tumbled down marble-esque shoulders in golden waves. Her eyes retained the light, glowing violent gold rather than the blue that was seated in the shadow beasts' memory. The final piece was her wings--massive, dominating--furrowing out of her dark skin and exploding outward in a flurry. An angel. Heaven's emissary. The- "Alice." Shalbriri whispered, stepping back defensively as he looked at her with fearful eyes. A creature of paralleled energy trapped and contained for hundreds, if not thousands, of years inside the body of a demoness. Right under his nose. The Jabberwock only hesitated for a second, as she turned those burning eyes to his dark form, before startling and finding Leander in the crowd. It wasn't surprising the way the cat melted. He stared at her like she was the last thing star in the sky, like every second he hadn't existed with her light was one wasted. Everything stopped before him as he stepped to her, one more, and another, an antagonizing pace. She burned, more and more with each moment he approached, but he needed her. Shalbriri reached out to his companion, but it was too late. "Leander." The creature seemed to sing, looking towards him. For a moment the king's worried eased. Then she raised her hand. She remembered, even if he didn't. The cat retreated into the shadows, for a heartbeat, before rising back, his form trembling as it tried to fight off the light. But she was too strong. He was too weak. The Cheshire that reappeared was a lion of white and gold, standing noble and statuesque against the forlorn scenes of battle. Shalbriri stood, nervous, afraid, as he looked desperately in the crowd for Akan. She was his last hope. They had to leave. When he spotted her, it was already too late. Her voice rung against the silence, a sorrowful call for the name of the only one she had ever loved. Leander, who had abandoned her at every possibility for something better. Leander, whom she had protected, from himself, from others, from the memories that would haunt his waking moments. Leander, whose lover she protected with a fierce strength, because always, always, loyalty first. Who abandoned her even now. Yet with a fierceness unrivaled, the woman ran to the Angel, not even shifting into her monstrous form. She wanted her wits. It didn't matter. As Akan raised her blade, dark and glimmering, Lilith reached out for her pale cheek, pressing heated skin against the icy coolness of the Bandersnatch. Red eyes widened, looking towards her king who stared back fearfully. When the bandersnatch rose again, the shadows had been lost. White, gold, the anglomeration settling on a wolf's form who stood brilliant, bright, next to its new queen. Shalbriri stepped back. One half of the underworld's strength taken in the matter of a heartbeat. Lilith looked towards him, falling back to the ground gracefully as her eyes turned blue once more. Her smile was painfully alluring, and the king backed away with every step she moved forward. "Your majesty." A whisper, a promise. He shook his head, fingers twitching as he looked back and forth between what was once Leander and Akan. "It's your turn. Let's see if you can fight the monsters you created." And they pounced.

[sann-lykke]

tagged by @ninannarambling​!!

go to page 7 of your WIP, count down 7 lines, share 7 lines/sentences, and then tag 7 other writers 

(tagging: @cimberelly​, @bunnyhips​, @conquerse​, @devicing​, @plaire​, @mayuzumichiihiro​, @shigukyos​. u don’t have to do it if u don’t want to!!)

this is actually from page 14, because I realized I’d already posted a preview that included page 7 a while ago...

“As it were, I’d had no intention of visiting until now.”

“Of course,” Akashi replies, reaching for the teapot. Imayoshi glances at the ancient bow resting beside him, a long, strong curve of bamboo and wood and strengthened hemp. It is a wonder how anyone would think of jumping in front of such a weapon; then again, it had been exactly that foolishness that had led him to Imayoshi’s mountain. “I understand you are here for the…disturbances that happened last week.”

Imayoshi inclines his head. “Yes.”

“Very well.” Akashi sips at his tea. The windows rattle ever so slightly with the wind picking up outside, and it is not without some sense of resignation that Imayoshi realises he ought to have asked more than just Susa to entertain his guests today. “Please, go ahead.”