#slyn

[sinkingintoyou]

lick me with electricity, let me feel like im in heaven

[swordslinger95]

My Shadowrun character, Slyn! An albino elf who needs coffee to survive, and is a street samurai specializing in longarms!

[minas-writing]

I’ve been following @homesteadhorner for a while now and I’m finally getting a good combination of courage, time, and inspiration to fill a prompt! This is for Character Tuesday, Freedom Fighters.

Now, the main non-fanfiction project I have going right now is The Prince of Vacea (”main” being... very relative). The MC, Slyn, unwillingly joins and leads a rebellion that aims to “free” the people from the unified government, but that’s the main plot and I have other stuff to work out, so I went somewhere else with this. And, surprisingly, it went well! This is the first time I’ve written a scene on Sabil, and the first time post-revision that I’ve written inside Raem’s head, and I was surprised at what his personality is like around the people he knows. Anyway, on with the show!

Doing Something

World: Vacea

Length: ~900 words

Summary: Raem returns from a walk, a small slice-of life on Sabil. (This is an entirely fantasy universe, though the magic doesn’t make an appearance in this one. Raem + his group have been running a rebellion on a different planet while their own is dying, and the MC is barely present here)

TW: environmental degradation, possession I guess

Raem trudged down the packed street, everyone out doing errands while the air quality was high enough to breathe without technological aid. He dodged a man, hardly over than himself, on a slow-moving hoverchair, his thick boots sticking a little to the plastic sidewalks. The residue was thicker here in this corner of the city, where the wind blew rancid smoke from the garbage piles burning miles away.

It was a terrible sight, and a terrible feeling. But even when Raem ducked inside a house built inside a shop’s cavity, an airlock hissing shut behind him, he didn’t pause to take a lungful of artificially scrubbed air. There was no time for that. Every moment, the once-lush planet Sabil was dying. Scientists scrambled to find one more resource they could exploit, failed, then blamed the politicians who spoke of greater times ahead while being too afraid to take real action.

Raem wasn’t too afraid. He crossed the small living room and began to climb the ladder set against the burnished white wall, ignoring the elevator that would only add to the mess. While the lower floor was home to modest and functional living quarters, the upper level was full of offices and quarters for the small army that Meali had gathered.

Well, not army, Raem mused, pushing the hidden door out of the way, but an army nonetheless. They had the will and they had the means. They were the preservationists, those who aimed to save Sabil, in direct contrast to the government, who hunted them while doing absolutely nothing.

“How close?” Meali asked Raem as he climbed onto the floor and shrugged his coat off. She stood in a doorway, a worldwindow in her hand. The only reason that she and Raem were putting up with the technology was that paper would ultimately be more wasteful. Not to mention its scarcity.

“Less than a month, sparrow,” Raem answered. He took her by the shoulders and kissed her in greeting. She smiled beneath his lips and pulled back to allow him to slip his gloves off of his prematurely spotted skin.

“Less than a month,” Raem repeated, “until the little prince sends his warriors to the palace in Rinthia. After their success, the entire planet of Vacea will be rocked, their strongest leader a young girl, and the idiotic Council here will have to seize total control of that lovely planet.

“You’d love it there, Meali,” Raem continued, leading her further into the building and into his room. There were no windows up here, limiting the risks of radiation poisoning and being found, but also causing Raem to forget exactly how bad it could get out there. That was why he took walks when he could, even though it was dangerous. Raem smiled fondly, taking his mind away from the depressing landscape of Sabil.

“The sky is ever so blue on Vacea,” he said, “a deeper color than I ever imagined the sky could be. There are still trees, hundreds of them in living forests. Their leaves are so varied, some broad and falling like paper, and others that are small and sharp like needles. I haven’t been to the sea, but the palace has several magnificent murals and tapestries that depict something more vast than even the canyons here.

“I’ll show you someday, Meali,” Raem said earnestly, buttoning up his indoor shirt while she dropped his outdoor clothes down the hole in the corner. “Both the real sea and the artwork in the palace.” He laid on the narrow bed, looking up at Meali’s beautiful face, framed by short blonde hair. He’d see it shine someday, shine as healthily as that mute sundaughter’s, Matta from Vacea.

Meali smiled, pulling the transmental glass panel over the top quarter or so of Raem’s bed, tinting everything just a little bit green.

“I look forward to seeing it all,” she said. “Now, remember - the census officer meeting is in a few days, you can’t miss it.”

“Don’t worry, Meali. I should be able to come back in less than two Vacean days, just in time for Trevor and Mauj to join us again. By the way, have they answered my message yet?”

Meali pressed a few buttons on the controls near Raem’s head. “They did. They said that the trade with House Tilt will be conducted a few miles outside Rinthia, to the south of the pass. Now,” she said, standing back and grabbing Raem’s hand with her own. “Don’t forget who you are and where you come from, you lettuce.”

Raem grinned, squeezed Meali back, then folded his hands on his chest, preparing for the usual days-long induced coma. “As long as you don’t forget me, sparrow, I’ll always come back home to you.”

“Stop with the sap.” Meali rolled her eyes, stepped to the wall, and flipped the switch welded there. Raem took in the sight of her standing there one more time, before his eyes closed and his mind slipped between stars. He flew bodilessly through the crystal-clear atmosphere of Vacea, down to the surface, and into the form a pale boy who was just waking up. Good timing.

***

Slyn startled fully awake at the sudden presence. He didn’t let it show on his face, but his heart sank as Raem’s orange, incorporeal form clouded the edges of his vision once more.

“Now,” said the hissing, rusty voice, “about the House Tilt transaction…”

[randomname1689]

Enchanté, everyone. My name is Slyn Vulpes the story-teller, and this is my first fan fiction. It will tell you a story who happen in a different time-line than the one you know. Everything from the series is still true here, but instead of the third season, there is this story who start after the three specials episodes of 45 minutes, with an OC. If you don't like it, don't read it. Also, because I'm a French, i will use the originals names, and some lines or dialogue will be in French. But even if you do not know the language, you do not need your dictionary; you will miss nothing of the plot. Enjoy.

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"IT'S UNACCEPTABLE! THIS CHILD HAS NO RIGHT TO DECIDE WHAT TO DO WITH THE DOFUS! AND LESS..."

The prince of Brakmar couldn't finish his barking, because thanks the gods, he was interrupted by Joris who replied in a perfect calm tone:

"With all my respects, may I remind you, that the primordial Dofus returned to their original proprietor, the dragons, and the fate of the Eliatrope Dofus belongs to Yugo due to the fact he's the king of the whole Eliatrope people?"

"MAYBE, BUT WHO SAID HE GIVE IT BACK TO THE DRAGONS?! AND WHY HE LET OGREST ESCAPE?! MAYBE IT WAS FOR..."

He was interrupted again, but this time by the Cra matriarch, a little annoyed by the prince of Brakmar's attitude.

"It was Goultard, the new Iop god, and Ogrest just returned with his father Otomaï, like Yugo said a few seconds ago. And maybe you can stop being so noisy, we are only a few meters away from you after all."

"Plus, it was Brakmar who did try to collect the Dofus hundreds of years ago, and nearly destroy Bonta, because they angered a dragon while doing it, isn't it?"

Added the Osamodas represent.

"Hum... Well... Maybe, but it's the past, you know."

As for the other kingdoms representative, the Iop king wasn't saying a thing, because he was still trying to compute that his god reincarnation was Percedal, and believes me, he was trying hard. The Sadida king was listening patiently, the Pandawa and Eniripsa representative as well, the Enutrof king simply didn't care, but the Sacrier and Ecaflip representative join the dispute. And the Xelor was silent like the other before, but it was because of something else... he sensed something... weird with the space-time continuum, like an abnormality right in the center of the meeting room, and also behind Yugo, still in the middle of the room, but it couldn't be, after all his god wouldn't leave something like that here for so long. And finally for Yugo, our second protagonist, he was first very annoyed by the meeting, and still sad because of the fact his brother has leaved him, until he also sensed something, but it wasn't the same as the Xelor representative, no it was something far, very far away from here. Some kind of gigantic Wakfu accumulation, like a Dofus, but way more concentrates and maybe twelve time bigger. Actually it was a Dofus, an Eliatrope Dofus, who started to hatch, little… by… little. And strangely, when Yugo realize it, was the exact same moment that the space-time abnormality sensed by the Xelor representative earlier, begun to form a kind of glowing blue and green rift in mid-air, snapping everyone from their occupation, especially Yugo, who turn and take a fighting pose almost immediately, facing the breach, leaving the representative with lot of questions, they did not hesitate to ask loudly.

"-What is that thing?"

"IT'S THE ELIATROPE WHO ATTACKS..."

"It's a rift between two worlds" simply reply the Xelor."

"So it's maybe the Shushus."

"OR THE ELIATR..."

"But their world was destroyed!"

Remind the matriarch to everyone

"So it's the Elia..."

"Maybe some survives somehow and try to come here."

"No, this thing is way too much powerful to be only a connection between here and the Shukrute."

Informed Yugo with his powers.

"Who care? Let's fight it!"

Simply reply the Iop kings

"For once, the Iops has a clever idea, it can be a threat."

"But it can be friendly as well."

"Yes, all of you are right, but the wisdom tells us that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. GUARDS!"

Finished the Sadida King.

And almost immediately after hearing the call of their king, dozens of Sadida soldiers enter the room and surrounded the growing abnormality alongside Yugo. The representatives of the world of twelve also decided to stay just in case, and so they prepared their powers. Except the Iop, who after a long thinking of two second, on which one of the billon of weapons in his haven bag he will use to fight ,finally decide to go bare-handed, so the fun will last a bit longer, and the prince, who stayed only to show he wasn't a coward.

And so, they waited…

And waited…

The rift was doing more and more cracking noises.

And they waited…

And Waited…

And more cracks!

And more wait…

And like that, a few second passed…

...

No one has moved, ready to anything...

...

...

And then a few minutes passed…

...

...

...

And they waited...

...

...

...

...

And suddenly, the rift opened widely, and formed a giant blue and green Eliatrope's portal. Everyone was surprised by the form the rift took, but they rapidly took back theirs guard. After all, if this portal required as much energy Yugo has felled, it could be a portal Qilby create somehow, to escape from the white dimension. But fortunately or not for the world of twelve, it wasn't the case: instead of an Eliatrope, it's a robot, looking like a metallic skeleton with bloody red glowing eyes, which emerged from the portal.

"Who are you?" a guard asked to the intruder.

Instead of giving an answer, he scanned the room, analyzing everyone before saying in an informatics cold tone:

"Proceeding primary objective:

Research of the energy named: Wakfu.

Actual Menace level: 2

Menace level accepted: 0.

Proceeding termination of the menace."

The robot took in his back a gun, which he pointed towards the nearest life form, Yugo, and shot. But Yugo was prepared, and used his portals to send back the blast to his owner, much to his surprise, or something close enough for a machine, destroying his weapon. The Iop king chose this moment to attack, jumping on the dimensional intruder, ready to punch him to the moon. The result was a broken arm, a small dent, and a redhead sent flying through the window. While everyone was shocked by his strength, the killing machine spoken again:

"Rectification Menace level: 10

Alert… maximum Menace level detected.

Use of annihilation mode required."

The shining killer started to change of shape, moving his mechanics, getting taller, bulkier, and now having more weapons of all kind on his arms than he should. His main gun on his right arm, pointed to his first target, start to charge, but a glowing blue-green blade decapitated him before anyone could do the next movement. His skull emitted a last sound as he rolled on the wooden floor:

"Rectification Menace level: Slyn Vulpes."

His large body fall loudly on the ground revealing our main protagonist standing between him and the portal: A teenager, Eliotrope. He was wearing one of the regular outfits, only mainly green with golden sewing and a similar cape, his skin as pale as the other of his species, but dark brown-blue hair, and eyes with the same color as his blade, and his portal. Slyly smirking at his victim, he made his wakfu blade disappear from the haft, and then, he lifted the metal body like he has the weight of a bag of feather, and thrown it with might back in the portal, alongside a strange black object he took from his pocket. Finally, he snaps his finger, closing instantly the dimensional passage, much for the relief of everyone, and for his last introducing movement, he took the skull left on the floor, and before crushing it simply by closing his hand, he mockingly said:

"Tu est terminé."

I don't know why, maybe due to the tension or the fact that he destroyed something nearly indestructible, but three soldiers nervously attacked our newly arrived protagonist. Too slowly for him, who simply walk to the window and jumped, leaving the stop-motioned peoples behind, and landed with a little chock-wave, he then run on the salt water until he reached his destination: Goultard. He was holding the hatching dragon egg, obviously not knowing what to do. Our hero writes a note, took the Dofus from his hand, and replaces it with his note, before taking the way back to the Sadida kingdom. On the way, our green clothed time manipulator, brings the Iop king along, and healed his arm with strange concoctions. Once back to the tree... the castle... the... oh whatever! Once back, he put the newly healed Iop back in his chair, and regained his place. But after looking at his surroundings, he decided to joke a bit. He leaves the Dofus in mid-air, and replaced the lance of the soldiers by sweeps. His next victim was the prince of Brakmar; I have to say that this new mustache and this pair of goggle go nicely on him, even if it'd only pen writing. For his last time trick, he decided to do a little matchmaking: he wandered in the corridor until he found Amalia; she was picking up something on the floor. Perfect. He took her to the meeting room, just in front of Yugo; it's going to be lovely. Finally he took back the Dofus, and let the time be: the three soldiers found themselves on the ground, humiliated, the prince's bodyguard couldn't stop laughing, and our two lovely birds found theirs lips connecting, and their eyes staring at the face of each other with a savant mix of love, violin playing "la vie en rose", pink background and a pinch of lust. A mess like we love it, isn't it Warpus?

"Oh! Hell yes!"

Finally spoke the green clothed trickster.

But of course, there is a hatching egg here, and I'm afraid that he will explode.

"WHAT?!"

Our hero, surprised by the sudden news, reacted as fast as he could: with a movement of his arm, a powerful wind send the soldier away in a safety distance, he then used his body like a shield, to prevent the blast from harming anyone. A blue flash accompanied by a gigantesque sound, taking the vision and the hearing of every persons present in the room for a few seconds. When it came back, the mystical dragon's egg has disappeared, and only a skeleton with… some damn resistant clothes, could prove our hero were here. To complete this puzzling picture, instead of two little cute being, the hatchlings were, contradictorily, two nearly adult Eliotrope and Dragon twin, knew as Nora and Efrim. The first one to react, was the dead body of our friend, who started by having his flesh being reformed; starting atom by atom by the internal organs, then by the nerves and the blood system, the muscle and the eyes, finishing by the skin and the hairs. Right after this ghoulish spectacle, our newly reformed protagonist rise, and walk to the naked body of Nora. Solemnly, he put his cape on her fragile body, and especially on her head. Finally he walked to the Sadida king, and while he bowed, he presented himself by a:

"Salutation, votre altesse. Je suis Slyn Vulpes le faiseur de portail; voyageur dimension-spatio-temporel, protecteur de cet univers, casseur de quatrième mur, et l'impossible. Mais je vous en prie, appeler-moi Warpus."

At the puzzled expression of his interlocutor, he understands his error, and rectified by...

"Oh! Alright! It's an English fan fiction! Well it's logical after all; more can read it that way."

Once again he bowed, and presented himself, this time in English:

"Greetings, your highness. I'm Slyn Vulpes the portal-maker; dimensional, space and time traveler, protector of this universe, fourth-wall breaker, and the impossible. But, please, call me Warpus."

At this particular moment, there were so many questions in the head of our secondary characters, that if it was on paper, even at the most little Character size, there would be no forest in our world and in the world of twelve. Strangely, one question could resume the rest:

"WHAT THE HELL?!"

For finishing this chapter, our main protagonist added:

"Oh! And I'm an E-LIO-TRO-PE, not an Eliatrope. Don't confuse please."

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It's a bit short, but i think it's a good start. Now, please understand that I'm a lazy writer, and that I've got plenty of stories projects; so do not wait for an update next week or something. Plus, right now i do not know were this story will lead, but i have a little idea. Also, "Tu est terminé.", mean "You are terminated" in French. And yes, Warpus was in the world of the terminator, and he killed an hulk version in ten seconds.

If you have read any errors, please notice me.

Critics are welcome.

[minas-writing]

Slyn - Week 0, Introduction

@yourocsbackstory (hi!)

I’m going to take a stab at this! As a real writeblr! Yay! Also I drew a quick, terribly-proportioned picture cuz... why not? He be moody again. Sorry for the super long explanation

Slyn is the youngest member of the royal family of the planet of Vacea. Many years ago, an alien planet named Sabil attacked the relatively peaceful Vacea, forcing the seven nations to unite and leverage their advantages. Eventually, a treaty was signed. It began a new era for Vacea, one of significant technological advancement and knowledge of space travel. Even still, most Vaceans focus on their own planet, and very few ever care to leave.

Besides, if they did leave, they’d eventually lose whatever parent power they had. Some Vaceans have magic, a collection of small talents that show up in patterns. Specific groupings are named after where they tend to appear - for example, people who can see or otherwise sense emotions and detect surface thoughts are known as treechildren, since they tend to appear in the forest towns. Mountainchildren have increased longevity and ridiculously good memories. Some parent powers appear all over, like starchildren, and since they’ve existed since the beginning of Vacea, superstition has grown up around some.

Slyn is a shadowson. Rare and largely feared. Not many have existed at all, so knowledge about their talents is mostly limited to “they hurt people.” There’s more to it than that, of course, but Slyn doesn’t exactly have a mentor. Shadowchildren have “always turned evil.” Slyn grew up a bit more sequestered than most, so he wasn’t always aware of his power’s reputation. But he grew up, and realized that there was a reason he’d never been allowed to train as a warrior with his older brother Vaneth.

Of course, things go very quickly downhill when Slyn starts hearing a voice in his head, a rust-orange presence that calls itself Raem. The one time he told a doctor, that doctor later “mysteriously” died from a hitherto-unknown heart condition. From that, Slyn learned that Raem could use his powers against him and those he was close to. Through a combination of bribery, manipulation, and threats, Slyn is cajoled into setting in motion a revolution that believes it’s really doing something good. There’s a lot of gray area, as the New Vaceans aren’t evil, but neither are they politically knowledgeable. Slyn isn’t sure himself if Raem is a construct of his own mind, or a shadowchild’s curse, or a separate entity.

[altdubs]

Here are the children of Dagen!Ink and Ephro!Error, this took awhile to draw but it was worth it! With this you'll be able to know them more.

Cathu's stare thou >w<

[swordslinger95]

Hello! I wanted to post my drawings of my Shadowrun character, the albino elf named Slyn, top two, and her GF, Aki. 

[minas-writing]

Week 3 - Friends

For @yourocsbackstory ! I missed last week but I’m back! Late! Oh well!

I’m counting the assassin team as Slyn’s friends. They’re probably the best he’s got right now, and though they’re all just a little too okay with murder for him, they are his age and relatively fun to be around.

There’s GinHa, from a country called Marandala, which I picture as sort of like ancient Mongolia, though I still need to do tons of research. She’s the one who, if it needs to get personal, will get up close with the murder. It doesn’t bother her. She’s the fighter, if there’s a fight.

Farin is short, native to Rinthia where the story and capitol are, and he really likes mechanics. If there’s a lock to be picked, a gate to be lowered, a vehicle to be hijacked, he’s the guy. He also likes bludgeoning weapons, if he has to use them at all.

Rinter is of an unknown ethnicity, though he likely came from some kind of noble group, as he shows familiarity with and strong interest in the inner workings of the court. He likes the politics, and is the party’s face, as it were. He’s the one with the highest Charisma score and can bluff his way through almost anything.

Matta’s interesting. Chackalo (terrible country name I know :P) is kind of Eastern-Europe coded, and is like Rinthia’s younger cousin. It’s more where nobles go to vacation, if they like more forests and odd architecture. She’s actually a runaway daughter of a major noble family, but it’s not like anybody in Rinthia really pays enough attention to realize. She’s the only one in the group with magic, a kind of telekinesis. And she doesn’t talk. She could if she wanted to, but she just chooses not to, for various reasons, not all of them bad. GinHa is her very good friend, and Matta often just goes along with the stronger personality.

What follows is one of my favorite sequences that I wrote for Vacea’s first draft. There’s quite a bit of worldbuilding I was trying to figure out for it, so lots of proper nouns, but I think it’s readable if you have no idea what’s going on. It features most of the main characters, actually.

“Lord Tirra is your next target,” said Slyn, addressing the four in the large conference room that now belonged to him. It had previously been two empty houses, but they’d knocked down a few walls and made it the largest room in the cave of New Rithia.

“Makes sense,” said Farin, the smaller man. Well, he wasn’t much older than Slyn, but he was half a head shorter and had much darker hair. “I think.”

“He’s the one with all those soldiers that harass people, isn’t he?” asked GinHa. She retied the pale yellow ribbon in her black hair.

Slyn nodded once. Even though he’d never asked, it was obvious that GinHa was Marandese. It was the seventh Vacean state to join the united coalition, but it was only last because it was a collection of tribes rather than a proper country as many of the others had been. In that way, Marandala was a template that the New Vaceans wanted to copy - each town or clan ruling themselves with no input from the planet’s government, because no planet-wide government would exist at all. Slyn knew it would never work. He’d studied enough political theory and history to know that. The clans of Marandala were fading out and many were leaving their homes for the Galhaltran States and Perint. New Vaceans had good intentions, but they would ultimately fail. If not during the revolution, then after it. Why Raem persisted in it, even if they both knew it was destined for failure, confused Slyn. But he wanted his family back, so he built up the cause anyway.

((OOC - I wrote that a while ago and have no idea if it’s actually valid but this was just a first draft))

“His soldiers are Vacea’s army, though,” said Rinter, a scowl of confusion on his face.

“His soldiers,” argued Slyn, listening to Raem, “are the main force that would stop us. Besides, Vacea doesn’t even need an army. Nobody has attacked us for generations. Why would they start now?”

“But what if somebody does?” Rinter continued.

“Then our citizens can take care of it. We’re not entirely helpless.” Slyn was vaguely disturbed by the smirk that appeared on Matta’s face. She was from the nearby state of Chackalo, and had one of the strongest parent gifts in the world. Matta was a sundaughter, and her most prevalent talent was moving small things without touching them. As far as Slyn knew, only twenty sunchildren were alive, all from Chackalo or Attorya.

“Lord Tirra, then.” Rinter drew all eyes back to him, and reclaimed the conversation. “Any other instructions?”

Raem’s orange smoke swirled around Slyn’s head like a snake. He didn’t bother taking form much anymore, preferring to sit back and direct. “Ignore the servants in his house. If they wear the New Vacean knots and hide their weapons, then the servants will let them pass. But the soldiers they will have to sneak past.”

“Wear the knot and conceal all your weapons,” Slyn said out loud. “Lord Tirra’s staff will ignore you if you ignore them, with the exception of the soldiers.” He got a bit of a rebellious thrill from restructuring Raem’s instructions, though he did just say exactly the same thing. Raem usually didn’t mind.

The four nodded. Slyn looked them over - Farin, GinHa, Rinter, and Matta. Only Farin was older than Slyn. They were talented and obviously comfortable with what they were doing, even if none of them had ever been part of an assassin team before. Much less killed anyone.

It was early the next day when Slyn heard how it had all happened.

Emmelyn shivered in the chill of the smaller conference room in the palace. Her parents, the King and Queen, sat in front of her, listening to the warrior across the table give his report. Ganna stood behind her, the man who worked on cases such as these. It was early, but she’d been up much earlier before.

“The guard shifts were about to change,” the warrior was explaining. “It was maybe two or three in the morning, and we’d been on shift for a few hours already. Nights are always difficult, and I have to admit that my eyes wanted to close. But I’m a loyal soldier through and through, Your Majesties, and I never once dozed off.”

“There were lots of guards on the wall, but they were all sleeping,” GinHa said, her feet up on the table and a bowl of grapes in her hand. “We practically just waltzed right in.” A grape flew through the air and landed in her mouth.

“It only took a few moments for five strong men to pull us down and douse us with baha powder. That’s all I remember.”

“Thank you,” said King Hela. He dismissed the warrior and called in a large woman who worked in Lord Tirra’s large house.

She took a deep breath, evidently nervous. “I’m just a laundress, Your Majesties. I’m not sure what I can offer...”

“Any information at this point is good information,” said the investigator behind Emmelyn.

“Well,” began the woman. “I saw four people I didn’t recognize walking through the hallways. They seemed a bit suspicious. It would have been very early in the morning, close to three o’clock. My mind was a bit muddled, though, Your Majesties, and I didn’t see them well. I can tell you that two were female. But they were gone quickly and none of them spoke.”

Farin sat down next to GinHa, less celebratory but still smug. He stole a grape from her bowl, and she glared. “We sort of got lost inside, but there was this fat lady - ”

“Don’t say fat, she wasn’t that bad,” Rinter interrupted from his position leaning against a nearby wall. “Just... larger. She was strong, though, with a big basket of clothes. She saw our knots. She let us pass, just like you said.” He glanced up at Slyn, who nodded.

Another grape sailed through the air, wrenched from the perfect trajectory of GinHa’s throw, unsupported before finding Matta’s pale hand. She grinned at GinHa and raised her eyebrows at Farin, urging him to continue the story.

He did. “She told us where to find the wing where Lord Tirra usually stayed.”

“And you,” said King Hela, looking at a new witness, a young girl who looked terrified to be standing in the presence of the King, the Queen, the heir, and a royal investigator. “You said you saw something.”

“Yes, sir,” the girl said in a small voice. “I was about to go to bed, after beginning the next morning’s breakfast. Two girls were walking around. One of them asked me where Lord Tirra’s room was. I assumed they were new maids so I told her. They turned around and joined two boys and went the direction I had said.”

GinHa set the empty bowl on the table. “And another girl told me and Matta exactly where to find the guy. I thought she saw the knots, too, but she looked really suspicious. I’m not sure she ignored us like the other woman.”

Behind Emmelyn, Ganna leaned forward. “I know you’re nervous, but I must insist you tell us everything. What did these people look like? Was there anything specific you saw?”

“One of the girls was Marandese,” the girl said nervously. “The second one didn’t talk, and I don’t think she could at all. All four had...” She trailed off.

Ganna urged her on. “Had what?”

“New Vacean knots,” squeaked the girl, then she hid her face. Emmelyn’s parents both inhaled sharply.

“Hm.” Ganna leaned back. “Thank you for your time.”

“Dismissed,” repeated King Hela. The soldiers guided the girl out.

“Will the maid be a problem?” asked Slyn levelly. He looked at Matta, who just shrugged. Then she grimaced and rocked her hand.

“Maybe,” GinHa translated. “She seemed pretty conservative.”

Slyn sighed and changed the subject. “So you found Lord Tirra’s room without a problem?”

“Yes, sir,” nodded Farin. “And nobody stopped us.”

“New Vaceans,” sighed Ganna when the girl and soldiers left. “That explains why everybody but that maid lied to us, and how the assassins were able to just walk in. I had hoped they wouldn’t be a problem.”

Emmelyn stopped him. “New Vaceans? Who are they? Why does that explain things?”

“We did run into a bit of trouble...” Rinter objected.

“A corpse doesn’t talk,” GinHa grinned.

“It was just one, and we hid and rigged the body so nobody can blame us.” Farin reached to fill a cup with water. “They’ll think he committed suicide.”

Matta’s eyes gleamed with pride. She made the stream of water from the pitcher miss Farin’s goblet and splash on his shirt. GinHa laughed again.

“New Vacea is what a fairly organized group of revolutionaries call themselves,” King Hela said before Ganna had a chance.

“But most people like them. To many people, they’re the good guys,” Ganna said. “If somebody uses a specific New Vacean knot on their colored ribbon or scarf or such, one we haven’t been able to identify, then they’re granted passage to practically anywhere. It’s a breach of some unspoken rule to wear the knot if you’re not actually affiliated with New Vacea.”

“Anyway, we found the old geezer sitting in his chair, practically dead already,” Rinter continued, a smile still on his face from Matta’s antics.

“Matta stopped him from making noise by pressing his cape against his face.” Farin didn’t want to be left out, though he looked distinctly disgruntled at his damp shirt. “GinHa went up and stabbed him, then Rinter saw some guards coming and we jumped out the window. He was still twitching, but - “

“We waited until he died,” GinHa protested. “We were just out on the roof instead of in the room.”

Funny, thought Slyn. She was afraid of him disapproving of their methods. He didn’t care, but he was, honestly, a bit sick. None of the four looked like they were battling their consciences at all. They were joking and laughing, confident that any blame would be pinned on Slyn. That was what a leader was for, he supposed. He did wish one of them would show a bit of remorse or guilt.

“We followed your instructions and did everything you asked,” said Farin. “Now we’re done, right?”

“They’ve never made a move as bold as this before.” King Hela shook his head. “We never did anything about them because they never stirred up any trouble.”

“So you know where to find them?” asked Emmelyn. She fiddled uncomfortably with her long sleeves.

“No,” sighed King Hela after a moment. “I wish I could say otherwise and go there right now. Assassinating a lord is reason enough to make them disband.”

“No, there are still more adventures to be had,” Raem said, and Slyn repeated his words dispassionately out loud, not bothering to think of a different way of wording it. But “adventure”... what a horrible way to put it.

Matta grinned while GinHa chuckled and Farin’s eyes lit up. Rinter shrugged as if he didn’t care, but Slyn knew that his emotions were as high as the others’. He didn’t smile with them.

“You are dismissed for the rest of the day,” Slyn told them. His unamused expression and monotone voice shooed the team out faster than his words alone ever could. He sat heavily on the chair GinHa had vacated when the curtain behind her had settled.

“You’re doing well,” whispered Raem, pleased. “You may grow into this role better than I ever thought you could.”

“Shut up,” growled Slyn, quietly enough that nobody beyond the curtained doorways and covered windows could hear. “I don’t care what you think. I don’t care about any of this. I just want to go back home.”

“Better not let anybody hear you say that. My plans could be tossed out the window.”

Slyn sneered and clenched his hands. “I told you that I don’t care about your stupid plans. If they crashed and burned, I wouldn’t cry a single tear over it.” The moment the words were out of his mouth, Slyn wished he could pull them in. Raem had shown him unkindness in the past for talking back like that. But he didn’t apologize, just stood and left the room, going about the next diabolical task that would leave his soul scarred for good.

((Eh? Eh? Dramatic, innit?))