#rising darkness

[pinkyberet]

Your Darkness Won’t Rise

Yasahiro Ready To Face Nozaka To Make Her Normal Again And Stop The Darkness From Rising.

[risingdarknesscomic]

hi, i’m @epiphlyte!

rising darkness is a warriors-inspired comic that’s been in the works for a long time, and one i’m currently experimenting with putting on instagram. here’s a teaser consisting of quotes from the first half of the prologue!

the comic officially starts this NOVEMBER 3RD (mark your calendars)!! pages will be posted here on instagram, deviantart, tumblr, and comicfury - links to which can be accessed through my bio! more info is very soon to come; for now, do just enjoy my silly battle cat drawings c:

thanks a bunch for dropping by!

[epiphlyte]

compilation of both older and more recent art of battle cats ocs since i’m on break and don’t have access to my tablet right now! probably the first of two character dumps before i get back home and can doodle up some new stuff.

feel bad reposting sometimes Dx but since these havent been seen on tumblr before and im trying to use this blog as an art journal of sorts, it was inevitable. hope you guys enjoy, at least for now!

chars are (if curious); ryecurl, fernpaw, pigeonflight, blackstorm, beefrost, “bird”, “russet”, “petal”, waveheart, coppershine, kestrelstorm, tawnystar, hazelstar, littlestar, and ripplestar!

[pluralsword]

Queer Wargaming with Cards

Yeah we do wargaming.

With cards.

Extremely gay cards.

You know, the Transformers Deck-Building Game XD

It's a wargame in the sense that we've collected a bunch of expansions (we have the core autobot game, the core decepticon game, infiltration protocol expansion, and the war for cybertron core game) that would together enable 4v4 gameplay... we calculated that would mean having a card matrix (the battlefield as it were that gets flipped over to reveal allies, enemies, gear, friendly or enemy strategies, bosses, and locations, and battles resulting in defeated enemies leave ruins) of 6 x 6 (36 cards, with one starting polity) cards, and a 21+21+21+5 deck containing the bosses and more polities... (note the game rules go up to 2v2 or 3v1 or 4 player coop/team competitive but if one wants to get in more content and players you just increase the matrix from a 4 x 4 for four players to say, 4x5 for five, and add two cards to boss stacks, going from a 11+11+11+5 to 13+13+13+5, and so on for more players)

as a deckbuilding game, a core mechanic is collecting cards from the field and adjusting your deck and buffing cards and the like, all actions you take are with cards, whether repairing, attacking, blocking, assisting, recruiting, commanding, damaging, and so on. So inevitably you end up collecting a bunch of blorbos, tactics, and gear...

so it's completely unlike any other wargame in that every player is a sort of mass effect style commander who brings their team of blorbos (including humans and non-transformer aliens), gear, and tactics with them to wreck or charm opponents, lead polities, repair the tolls of war, collect relics, take down enemy leadership, protect each other, complete war goals, along with defending ones own leaders...

which is a very transformers premise, come to think of it, but it also feels a lot like ancient war stories, and very gay equivalent, both because of all that and because well, transformers has been very same-gender love uwu intentionally since 2012 which shows no signs of halting, and hit a gender expansive aspect too (the deckbuilding game so far only has sword arcee and overlord but we are sure more will turn up)... so suffice to say that uh we are glad this is the board game we decided to collect for-

its also a lot cheaper than wargames typically are for army building or what have you, and has a built in cooperative or solo mode if you don't want to fight your friends! for reference the amount of money we've spent on the game to now have a vast number of gal characters who would appear on the board is around the cost of a single Manticore missile tank from a certain grimdark game... (although that series is infamous for being much more expensive than other wargames)

speaking of women:

With the cards we have there are 11 different options for playable characters (the leaders of your decks) who either were introduced as gals (Arcee, Elita-1, Slipstream, and Windblade), have at least one gal iteration (Starscream, Skywarp, Ironhide, and Optimus Prime) or would have been canonized as gals but either that was turned down at the time or character cut from a continuity budget (Ratchet and Jazz respectively). If we had the Dinobot expansion that would put us at 12 since Swoop is a gal in Cyberverse.

also the alt modes are on the flip side, transforming is a key mechanic since you need your alt mode to move around usually (respectively, Ratchet: ambulance, Arcee: sports convertible, Elita-1: sports muscle car, Slipstream: fighter jet, Windblade: VTOL jet, Starscream: fighter jet, Skywarp: fighter jet, Ironhide: van, Optimus Primes: truck without the trailer, Jazz: sports car)

Dunno about you but that's a lot of options who are gals for any board game usually... and they vary vastly in capabilities, for example:

-Arcee (from the core/autobot set simply known as the transformers deck-building game) has a skill lay out that is built around moving quickly and gathering maneuvers to use selectively customize personal prowess while playing cards that, in our experience, tends to defeat/eliminate the most enemy npcs on the board (at least until the war for cybertron expansion). she also has strong synergy with her own npc card and the energy blades whose art of hers held by her from the same set.

On an obscure lore note, since the Matrix of Leadership card can be picked up by anyone who can play 8 power (having the power and the touch here doesn't seem to function on a morality basis but hey it doesn't always do that anyway), if you do it with her you can effectively play Arcana Magnus, which is close to the name that was considered for her if she had won the choose a Prime poll for the Power of the Primes toyline (for which she ran on a platform of giving up her career as a warrior, serving with honor, and focusing on reparations in the aftermath of the Great War)

-Windblade (war for cybertron bonus pack) can boost one of her cards while on a site (because of her cityspeaker thing) and can for 1 energon also teleport to allies / sites (another reference because of titans often having spacebridges, but also she's a flyer), and then draws a card she has card draw... on top of that for 2 energon she can recruit an enemy of 2-4 power so she can recruit from the start of the game without the matrix of leadership (which is the only other way to do this, from the core/autobot set)- so effectively politician Windblade has made it into the cardgame (which was so exciting to us), and she can also move allied players to an adjacent space when switching to alt mode, her team versatility is very different from Ironhide who is all about focusing on blocking attacks for teammates, or Ratchet who doles out assists and repairs like no tomorrow (this also uniquely positions Ratchet to defend friendly Autobot bosses)

-Slipstream (war for cybertron) is the first real starter sniper/gunship of the lot, she can give her starter cards +1 range and can also battle enemies not in her space with +2 range and +2 power which makes her a killer to rival arcee, and has card draw or can self heal 2 damage and in alt mode can choose a card from her discard to put on top of her deck so she is the deck engine blorbo (insert blue/red deck joke here)

-Elita-1 (war for cybertron) on the other hand has a sort of turn by turn engine because when she recruits an autobot they go on top of the deck for the next turn, so she can determine her next turn draw, and also can boost autobot cards- and most importantly, for each autobot she controls on the field in play, she can deal 1 damage to a target character, so um... Elita can completely mess up enemy players/teams, if she has five Autobots played on a turn she can hit someone in the same space as her for 5 damage... which means -10 points at the end of the game if not repaired! she is a menace even compared to the Decepticons in other other sets because of the amount of damage she can deal mid-late game. If one wants to reimplement the core game co-op/solo rule of a team loses when a character takes 5 damage, but instead do it as the player is taken out until getting at least a damage repaired (for the record we came up with this variant, but otherwise it's a death by a thousand cuts situation where you can keep racking up damage), this makes Elita extremely dangerous for shutting down opponents and also the ideal Autobot wielder of the Star Saber, since that card is in part for dealing damage to other players

-Skywarp (infiltration protocol bonus pack) on the other hand is all about scouting (Jazz from the autobot/core game bonus pack is even more so), utility, disruption, able to teleport upon transforming to altmode, flipping adjacent regions' cards face-up when playing a starter card for the first time on a turn, and able to either cause a friend to discard a hand and draw again -1 (which is handy if your pal does not like their hand and especially if they know what cards are next), or can do the same thing to an opponent to try to mess up their next turn or defensive actions they might take

-Optimus Prime's War for Cybertron variant is the strategic counterpart to her own (for clarification, Transformers Universe Optimus Prime and Yellow Splendid Convoy are she/her Optimi) autobot/core game card autobot card boosting and card draw/blcok capabilities and to Elita-1's guerrilla cqc style: this Optimus can block an attack from anywhere in the field against any player, while having the ability to draw a lot of cards or just build up victory points while on a polity

-Starcream actually has interesting counterplay to Elita in that she (she was a gal in the French dub of TFTM) can spend energon to give 1 damage dealt to her to a target player anywhere... and aside from this can also can battle Decepticons allies to gain their defeat rewards instead of adding them to her deck. Very Starscream

Some reviews of the game said it is lackluster with the lack of energon utility and having a lot near the end of the game- a rule was implemented in War for Cybertron capping the amount of energon one can have to 12, and also another rule (unsure if this was a rule before) established that cards spent to fight people could not have their move points be used after, so the game is now significantly more difficult hehe

We've played it a bunch of times with friends prior to acquiring War for Cybertron, it is easily one of our favorite games not just because of the intentionally queer-coded alien robots' art and personalities being all over the game, but also because the dynamic card synergy is enjoyable and the bosses can really mess you up if one doesn't have the right build. We aren't getting into this because we'd be here all day but the npc's personalities are certainly there: e.g. well known for her martial artist bodyguard iteration, Chromia (war for cybertron) helps players to gather maneuvers and to buff them in combat/diplomacy, along with having significant move and combat/recruiting capabilities herself (this could, for example, help Windblade collect combat and scouting cards, or enable Arcee to be even more deadly). There's other things we haven't tried yet, the Infiltration Protocol expansion comes with the eponymous six phases of Decepticon resource extraction invasion from IDW1 as a playable mode, and the bonus pack (which we have tried) came with Metroplex (who is an Autobot boss location rather than playable card), and also has a 1 vs team mode where the solo player is buffed significantly

anyway, we had to ramble about it because this game is cool as hell

[lilmizartgrove]

”Nothing I have given was ever free. I, like many of the other creators out there, have expectations of my creations. Failure is inexcusable and not an option.”

-Il Phyrea, the Great Creator of the Rising Darkness Universe. Although he has many forms he takes he spends most of his time in this one.

[lilmizartgrove]

Full Body version of Casimir for my character ref book I’m in the process of making. Here is some info about him! And by some info I mean:

EVERYTHING ABOUT HIM 😳

Enjoy!

"She is a product of humanity’s arrogance and now we all have to pay for it. You have no choice but to get rid of her for good. She is far past redemption. Her death is the only way."

      - Casimir talking to Nefertari

        General Information

Name: Casimir Grimaldi

Pronunciation: Cas-ih-mihr Grih-mahl-dee

Nicknames: Cassibear (Seraphina), no one else has the courage to give him a nickname

Gender: Male

Birth Name: Casimir Grimaldi

Birth Date: May 20

Birth Place: Unknown

First Word(s): Unknown

Dominant Hand: Left

Astrological Sign: Taurus

    Appearance

Height: 7’11” (216.71 cm)

Weight: 309 lbs (140.16 kg)

Race: Ethereal

Skin Color: Pale Ivory

Birthmarks: N/A

Extra Anatomy: N/A

Hair Color: Ginger

Hair Length: 32 inches

Hair Type: Wavy (2A)

Hair Style: Usually kept half up, half down or in a ponytail. He has bangs

Widow's Peak: N/A

Ear Shape: Long and tapered to a point

Eye Color: Base is a pink colour, yellow and purple cloud like moving nebulas move to show where he is looking. A star type structure is in place of his pupils, it glows and dims depending on his mood and health.

Eye Type: Downturned

Eyebrows: Thin and rounded

Nose Shape: Straight ig

Teeth: White, canines are long and sharp bottom teeth are moved to accommodate

Face Shape: Square

Complexion: Fair skin

Facial Hair: None

Musical Instruments: Casimir is pretty adept at playing the guqin. It helps him relax and decompress.

Amulets: Casimir wheres an amulet of a phoenix on the belt he wears over his sash. It represents the bond he has with one of the Creatures of Creation, Bennu, Prince of Water, Lord of Life, Rebirth, and Time.

Piercings: Casimir has two ear piercings. One is just a stud and the other is a tassel earring (on his right ear) that is froma pair to show he is married. His wife, Seraphina, has the other (worn on her left ear)

Hygiene: Maintains a thorough personal hygiene routine

Makeup: He wears blue eyeliner around his eyes

Perfume / Cologne: Doesn’t wear any

Scars: His left hand is blackened mid way up his forearm due to an injury he obtained in the First Great Cataclysm. He wears a glove to cover it.

Tattoos: He wears traditional Ethereal face markings. His colour is light pink

    Voice

Accent / Dialect: Due to his age, Casimir has fluency in all known languages with no accent

Pitch: Baritone

Volume: He is fairly quiet most of the time but when he is loud, it’s LOUD

Laughter: Chuckles most of the time but if he does laugh it’s loud and hearty

Impediments: N/A

        Philosophy

Religion: Doesn’t really have a name

Devotion: Worships Il Phyrea, the One, Creator of All

Superstitions: N/A

Deathwish: Ethereals are immortal. They don’t die from sickness or injury but can be killed.

Allegiance: Pliotea, His family

Alignment: Chaotic Good

Attitude: Calm, Cold, Calculated

Outlook on Life: N/A

Perception: He judges based on his experiences and encounters.

Vices: Indifference, Impatience, Ruthless

Virtues: Acuity, Candor, Tactfulness

    Character

Primary Objective: Protecting his family

Secondary Objectives: Protecting the realms, Teaching

Priorities: His family, taking care of students when they are sick, being the commander of the Alpha Squadron, Maintaining his duties as one of the rulers of Pliotea, his home realm

Motivation: 10/10

Self Confidence: 10/10

Self Control: 10/10

Self Esteem: 10/10

Quirks: Taps his pointer finger on the nearest object when irritated, rubbing his forehead when exasperated, eats smaller meals throughout the day, bouncing one of his legs when working, 

Hobbies: Playing the Guqin

Closet Hobbies: Writing poems for his wife and leaving them for her

Guilty Pleasures: N/A

Habits: An early riser, scoffing, crosses his arms (most of the time) when standing, rubbing his left hand when in deep thought

Desires: N/A

Lures: His wife can lure him into doing any and everything she wants though she usually does this to seduce him in the confines of his office these days.

Manias: N/A

Afflictions: He was injured by one of the Darkness’s many creatures of darkness which left his hand up to mid forearm blackened and numb. He can’t feel with that hand anymore though he can still use it. He also feels no pain in that area either.

Traumas: He still has PTSD from the First Great Cataclysm. It isn’t as bad as it used to be but he is affected sometimes.

Worries: Losing his family and being unable to protect them

Nervous Tics: He clenches his jaw when nervous

Instigators: Insulting his family and abusive actions (of any kind) being performed in front of him or he has knowledge of. These are the two things that will have him reacting immediately. His justice depends on the situation and setting.

Soothers: Cuddling Seraphina

Soft Spots: He has a soft spot for those who are pure of mind and personality. The ones who have not experienced misfortune. He wants to protect them. He also has a soft spot for kids.

Accomplishments: One of the few who survived the First Great Cataclysm

Greatest Achievement: He, along with Seraphina and his Squadron, were the ones who led the attack against the Darkness and were the ones that sealed her away

Failures: He’s had many failures throughout his long life. It happens to even the greatest of races.

Biggest Failure: He considers his greatest failure not killing the Darkness and making sure that she could never harm the realms again

Favorite Dream: He lives his favourite dream everyday. With the woman he always wanted and with kids

Worst Nightmare: For a few hundred years, he had a nightmare that the Darkness returned and he had to watch as she killed his entire family before killing him and taking over the realms

Earliest Memory: Living with his parents and brother in a little meadow

Fondest Memory: When he first held his eldest son after Seraphina gave birth with him

Worst Memory: The First Great Cataclysm

Funniest Moment: N/A

Happiest Moment: His happiest moment was when Seraphina walked down the aisle

Saddest Moment: Although they managed to seal away the Darkness, all but one of his Squadron died due to their mana being depleted to do it. He watched them drop when they couldn’t go on anymore.

Most Prized Possession: During their courtship, Seraphina made him a little solar system as a gift. He takes it with him everywhere and it is currently located on his desk in his office at Cliffside Academy. It’s about the size of a soccer ball

Most Valuable Possession: See above

Collections: He has a collection of items from every realm he has been on. Their little trinkets

Embarrassments: During one of the few moments of peace that came during the First Great Cataclysm, Casimir was reinacting one of the plays him and his Squadmates remembered. He reenacted the part of the woman and right when he and his Squadmate, Mikha’el, were about to fake making out passionately, Seraphina walked in. She had laughed at them hysterically and left the tent. She reminds him of this day often as it was the first time she saw him. For him it’s an embarrassing memory.

Mannerisms: He is fearless in his displays of affection with Seraphina. He doesn’t care who’s watching.

Humor: He has grim, dark humour. Some find him funny, some find it unnerving

Regrets: Not being strong enough to end the darkness once and for all.

Secrets: None

Darkest Secret: None

Pet Peeves: Chewing with your mouth open, fidgeting when talking to him, people who mumble when they talk

Phobias: None

Greatest Fear: The return of the Darkness even though he knows it’s coming, he still fears it.

Confidence: 10/10

Creativity: 8/10

Generosity: 4/10

Honesty: 10/10

Loyalty: 10/10

Insecurities: 0/10

Patience: 3/10

Predictability: 1/10

Reliability: 10/10

Respect: 7/10

Responsibility: 10/10

Trustworthiness: 10/10

    Preferences

Likes: Meadows, cooking and baking, tea, architecture

Dislikes: Liars, huge crowds and events, no manners, rudeness, unnecessary violence, arrogance

Favorites: Lilui nuts, meat, his wife (they’ve been married for thousands of years) and kids

Least Favorites: Nagging and yelling

    Magick

Magick Identification: Death’s Judgement (Vitakinesis/Health Manipulation)

Class: Sorcerer

Level: X (Highest level)

Magick Description: Vitakinesis allows Casimir to manipulate physical, mental, and social well-being of an individual. He can manipulate regenerative qualities, sense the health state a person is in currently and the health history of an individual. With one look, Casimir can sense the wounds, diseases, injuries, and ailments of an individual and what has caused them. Then, once diagnosed, Casimir can get rid of it.

In a battle situation, Casimir is not someone you want to come into contact with. He's a healer but he's also a double-edged sword who will end you with no hesitation. With his abilities he can reopen old wounds and re-inflict illnesses, conditions, and ailments of his opponent or inflict new ones entirely without even touching you or being in close proximity. He is also able to control the mental state of himself and those around him, with permission unless in the midst of battle. He can cause his opponent to go mad or insane even if they had been helped before, or he can heal those afflicted with a mental illness and make them mentally healthy again.

    Social

Mother: Unknown

Father: Unknown

Guardians: Unknown

Siblings: He has a brother, Aurelius Grimaldi

Children: He has seven children (listed oldest to youngest)

Asmodeus

Azriel

Noxis

Thaiphon

Icarus (twin)

Illiyah (twin)

Lysithea

Close Relatives: Unknown

Distant Relatives: Unknown

Ancestors: Unknown

Best Friend: Mikha'el Jeoveal (The only other one of his squadron that survived the First Great Cataclysm)

Close Friends: He is great friends with Lasanyl (Cliffside Academy Headmaster) and Nudalza (Cliffside Academy Potions & Alchemy Professor)

Confidantes: His wife

Friends: He has many who he considers friends, the Alpha Squadron is amongst these even tho he also considers them mentees

Rivals: N/A

Enemies: The Darkness

    Romance

First Love: Seraphina Divini (He saw her, once, on the battlefield during the First Great Cataclysm and immediately fell in love. When it was over he approached her to court her. They have been together ever since.)

Love Interests: Seraphina Divini

Marital Status: Married

Orientation: Heterosexual

Significant Other: Seraphina Divini

    Personality

Casimir is a calm, cold, and calculated individual. He is considered one of the greatest warriors in all the realms and has earned many honors due to his involvement and valiant fighting during the First Great Cataclysm. He is dedicated, intelligent, and ruthless in most, if not all, pursuits. He is a tough and strict commander of the Alpha Squadron though his wife curbs him from pushing them too hard. As one of the oldest of the Ethereal people, many try to gain audiences with him for knowledge and  advice. However, he isn’t a huge people person and prefers to be around people he knows, even if he only knows them a little. He is very much an introvert. He likes peace and quiet, though knows how to live in chaos and mayhem due to how his kids ran amok during their younger years.

Upon first glance, most consider him beautiful yet unapproachable. This is due to the indifferent air he carries around himself. He is rather emotionless and doesn’t portray much care to those around him, though he does care deeply. He is a pretty serious guy and intimidating if even slightly annoyed. Those who are in his inner circle, however, know a different man. To those he trusts and cares for, he shows slightly more emotion and tries to voice his care and gentleness to the best of his ability. He is truly an emotional and sensitive being and would lay down his life for those he cares for in a heartbeat. He is a caring, understanding, and loyal friend and the best person to go to for advice.

Getting on his badside is a mistake that you will learn almost before you even make it. His justice is swift and merciless. He will show no restraint, no mercy, no empathy. He does not forgive easily nor does he forget. He may not retaliate immediately, but sooner or later you’ll find yourself having a bad time. He is incredibly old, and although sometimes very impatient, thousands of years of life have made him patient. His revenge is cold and you won’t even know it was him.

[lilmizartgrove]

Rise & Ruin Pt.2

Warnings: Mentions of war, angst, abuse, assassination attempt

Word count: 2.7k

Author's note: I may have gone a bit overboard with this one lol. I kind of got in the zone and then just kept writing this character’s pov. I hope you guys like it! Also up for critique as always! Thank you for reading even if it’s long <3 I do want to say that this is supposed to give the sense that Abhimanyu is talking to the reader as he supposed to be talking to Nefertari (the main character) so it is supposed to be rambly and messy. However, if it’s too much so or confusing I can revamp if needed.

Memories - Abhimanyu

I remember it as if it were yesterday. The first time I was finally allowed to see you.

         It had been a relatively mild summer when you were born. From my mothers, I learned that you were the first biological female born to the Asha-taj at the time, your mother, and that you were destined to inherit the Gift. That meant that you would be my Asha-taj when I ascended the throne. The excitement I felt that day couldn’t be put into words that were worthy enough to describe it.

         “Abhi! Abhi slow down!” Hoof steps wrung out behind me on that day. Karina, your cousin, had come to visit from Terra to take part in the upcoming festivities to follow the announcement of your birth. We were mere boys back then…

         “Come on, come on, come on!” I had called out to him, hoping he’d speed up a little. I was impatient and always faster than him. “Hurry up, k’udji!”

         “Maybe you should slow down,” Karna had whined as he huffed and puffed behind me. “I’m going as fast as I can. Why are you so excited anyway?! You’ll be able to see her whenever you want!”

         His words had hurt, striking me with a pang of sadness. I wouldn’t have been able to see you whenever I wanted. My father enjoyed destroying any sense of happiness I found at every opportunity. It didn’t happen that way, your mother made sure of that, but I wonder if Karna had known that fact, would his words have been different?

         However, I had not lashed out or shown my sadness, instead putting on an energetic face as I responded to him, “I may be able to see her whenever I want but you can’t! This is a once in lifetime opportunity for you! Who knows when the next time you’ll visit fromTerra again?!”

         He had shrugged in nonchalance as we approached the common area of the Asha-taj’s palace. Peeking inside, we had been greeted with the sight of the other consorts and the older sons of the Asha-taj. Looking around, I had spotted the Asha-taj lounging outside with your father as Nymeria watched over the bassinet a few feet away. They had been laughing about something, but I had been too far away to know what about.

         As I had made my way through the room, Karna following close behind, the other boys, at least the ones that had started learning decorum, and their fathers greeted me. I didn’t pay them much mind, though I had greeted them in return, but I had been more focused on the bassinet that I assumed held you.

         “Uncle Aditya!” Karna’s cry of glee was piercing as he ran to your father. He had gotten up to catch Karna in a tight hug with a smile on his face. They were close but I’m pretty sure that was because your father and Karna’s father were twins. Perhaps it was easier to develop a bond like that. I envied that about Karna. His closeness to the male figures in his life.

         They had begun talking as my attention was pulled to the Asha-taj as she addressed me, “I greet you, Aj’dagni.”

         “Asha-taj e D’jaterun, I greet you in the light of Her Imperial Glory.” My greeting had been formal, more formal than hers, yet I hadn’t known at the time it was because she wanted to ease my nerves. Knowing how terrified I was of most, if not all, the adults of my father’s court. Back then, I didn’t understand but now I’m grateful for her gentle nature.

         “I presume you are here to see your little Asha-taj.” She had started sitting up from her seat on her chaise longue. She had said it without question.

         “Yes, Your Grace,” I had replied shyly. My face had begun to flush. “If I may.”

         “Of course, you may, little one.”

         She had gotten up with such grace. Your mother had always been graceful and elegant. Her hand had come to rest on my head as she guided me towards the bassinet containing you. Your older sister, Nymeria, had picked up your brother and carried him back to the living area inside with the other boys and fathers.

         I had looked up at her one last time, nervous that she was going to go back on her word. I was so used to that happening to me that it was almost expected. However, she had only smiled at me and pushed me a little towards the bassinet.

         I slowly inched towards it, suddenly nervous on what would happen but when I looked in the crib…

         You were such a cute, tiny thing. Tinier than the babies I had been accustomed to seeing. You were sleeping.

         Peaceful.

         I was so scared to wake you, wanting to bask in the blissful peace that came with just watching you. As I knelt to poke your cheek your mother had called out to you. To wake you.

         “D’jateri.” Her soft beckon seemed to be enough to awaken you.

         I waited with bated breath as you began to stir and open your eyes. You had stretched, rubbed your eyes a little, and then look around until your eyes landed on me.

         Our bond…

         It was immediate.

         From then on, I was there, by your side for every milestone.

         Your first steps had been when I had been invited by your mother to come watch over you while she had a meeting with a dignitary from Pliotea.

         You had thrown your ball a ways away and I had gone to go retrieve it for you. My attention was drawn back when your mother had called out to gain it, and there you were. You were wobbly, unsure, as you tried to come after me. You had a determined expression on your face. I had shouted in excitement, dropping your ball and startling you a little. I quickly apologized and urged you to continue.

         One step. Two steps.

         Slowly but surely, you made your way to me, who was urging you along with glee. You mirrored my excitement. Reaching out to me as you got closer. It had been one of my favourite moments.

         I was there when you were blessed with the Gift, when you obtained your magick.

         It had been unpleasant for you. Normally, your mother would’ve been there to help but she had been tied up in a meeting with my father. So, I was there. I don’t envy your family magick, D’jateri. It had caused you so much pain.

         Bombarded with the thoughts, feelings, and struggles.

         But you had immediately homed in on my mind. My thoughts. My struggles.

         My abuse…

         You had been so distraught with the knowledge of what my father was doing to my family and me. You had sobbed for hours in my arms. Inconsolable. You were so overwhelmed.

         By the time my father finally allowed your mother to leave his presence, you had sobbed yourself to sleep. You had exhausted yourself so much you had fallen ill almost immediately after.

         We saw each other less often after that. You had to start training with your mother to be able to control your magick. It was essential for every girl born with the Gift to be able to control their magick quickly. However, with the few times we were able to see each other, I taught you your first spell.

         It was such a simple spell. Fire magick. A simple fireball in the hand, however, you were so excited when you finally did it and showed me. You had surprised me with it.

         I had just finished training with my father and had immediately gone to see you. You were always able to brighten my day and give me hope. Just like starlight.

         When I had walked into your chambers, you had run up to me with such excitement that I was almost knocked to the ground. Your eyes sparkled so spectacularly and a smile to match. I had been so proud of you.

         But as the years went by, and as you grew older, trouble started to emerge. By this time, Karna and his family had come back to Helor to live due to the trouble his magick was causing on Terra.

         It was a few days later that our first ceremony was held. We were supposed to offer blessings to Tjak-hmet and pray for another prosperous century. We had been in the middle of the ceremony when the first attempt on your life had been made.

         Karna had seen the assassin first. It had caused a huge uproar when he had pushed you, and therefore me, out of the way. He had unfortunately gotten injured. The assassin had come at you again when I intervened. I had experienced such a wave of unbridled fury that I didn’t even think before acting.

         With vision covered in red, I had used my own magick to suck the air out of the lungs of the assassin.

         I watched as she had struggled for air, clawing at her throat and gazing at me in terror. If I had been thinking rationally, I would’ve come to the realization that she was not a professional but I hadn’t been. It took her minutes to cease moving.

         Your sobs had been what broken me out of my rage fit. I had turned around to see you with such terror in your eyes that I had feared you were afraid of me. I had taken a step back in shame until I felt your arms encircle my body. Your arms held onto me tightly as you sobbed into my chest.

         It was the second time you had cried so hard in front of me. The second time I consoled you. You weren’t as inconsolable as when your magick manifested but it came close. As I held you, the guards had finally come to take the body away. When I looked up, I had caught the eyes of my father. He had a look of anger. I had been so used to it that I knew what it meant.

         His plan had been ruined.

         I knew then and there he had hired the assassination. I was only surprised it hadn’t been a professional. Maybe he had wanted discretion.

         Normally, I would’ve backed down when seeing that look, I had done so my entire life, a survival mechanism for me, however, it was you he had threatened. I held his gaze with a glare as I had held you close. I had held his gaze until he looked away. It was the first of many times I started pushing back against him.

         The assassination attempts continued, however, Karna, Nymeria, and I made sure they never reached you in time. That you were never exposed to them.

         So that you never cried like that again and we have continued to do so until the day you disappeared.

         As we grew older, as our responsibilities became more and more, preparing us for our roles as Dhati’un and Asha-taj.

         But even with our schedules becoming heavier and heavier we did have one thing we did together. We would sneak out to the city below to help as many citizens as we could.

         In truth, the reason you had begun to join me was because I begged you to. During one of my first incursions, I had found so much pain, suffering and disease. Unfortunately, I wasn’t as good with healing magick as you, so I had gone back to the palace, into your chambers and had roused you awake.

         You had been disinterested at first. Preferring the warmth of your bed compared to the colder night awaiting us, but I was insistent enough that you had roused enough for me to plead my case.

         You only had to hear me talk of the sickness raging down in the lower ends of the city before you had begun to get dressed to accompany me beyond the palace walls. It had been your first time so you had been nervous and skittish, staying, nearly plastered, to my side until we reached our destination.

         It had been the home of a family with two sick children and as soon as the parents allowed us inside you set to work. Healing magick had been a subset of magick that the family of the Asha-taj were required to learn and you had caught on quickly.

         You had set to work asking the parents questions on symptoms that the children displayed. The more information they provided the more you had seemed sure of what was ailing the people of the city. Watching you use the knowledge you had obtained throughout your years of training was fascinating to watch and it was even more fascinating to watch as you went to work creating the potion needed to cure the illness that was afflicting the children.

         I had been watching in fondness as you joked around with the children as you gave them the potion. It had apparently been disgusting. The parents had giggled to themselves and when I had questioned them, they had commented on what a lovely couple we would make in the future. I had been so flustered and adamant that there was no future like that between us it makes me chuckle now whenever I think of it.

         We were a team then, and all the other times we went down there after. Helping our people like we were destined to. Together.

         And when we finally got accepted into Cliffside and put on the Alpha Squadron together, I was ecstatic. It was like the Heloran gods were answering my wishes, telling me that my dream of us being a team, would become a reality. Solidified in destiny…

         We had so many fun missions together…

         But those mission slowly uncovered a plot long in the making. A plot to bring back the great evil the realms had ever known, and we were too late to stop it.

         The Second Great Calamity happened. The second war with the Darkness began before we even graduated. We had been pushed back to the realm of Llesseg. We had learned that you were the one prophesied to stop the Darkness once and for all. It had come as a shock to everyone on the team, including myself.

         No one had known that such a prophecy had been issued by the Great Librarian all those years ago, and you had not taken it well. You had always been asked to give. Unlike myself, who accepted their role in the Grand Order, you had not.

         You had exploded in an anger I had never seen from you before. Years upon years of grievances were laid out. Struggles even I had no idea about.

         You were absolutely indignant.

         Yet, you fought with us that day. It wasn’t supposed to end like that. There had been no indication that the Darkness would be on the battlefield, and yet she was, and you, the one chosen to be her downfall, was her target.

         She had come at you so abruptly, no one had time to react. Least of all you.

         You were not prepared for such on onslaught. Not prepared for a battle between the Greatest Darkness to ever live. Perhaps that’s why you were lost to us. Though she was also lost.

         No one knows what happened in that battle, D’jateri. No one knows why you disappeared but it didn’t make it better. The war has continued. We have been fighting all this time meanwhile searching for you. No doubt the opposition has been searching for her as well.

         But I don’t care.

         I don’t care if this makes me selfish or childish, but I need you to come back, D’jateri.

         I know I should want you back because you are the only way to end this war, but I can’t bring myself to say that that’s why I want you back.

         I need you to come back because I need to tell you what those parents saw all those years ago. What took me so long to realize.

         Please if you are truly out there, hear me. I need to tell you…

         That I love you, D’jateri. So please. Please come back to me.