Lunacy

Two crazy insane writers getting up to collaborative story hi-jinx.

[writinglunacy]

Cascade of Time, chapter 2.

-The Darklight Angel-

-

The young woman shifted awkwardly, her armour clanking as she moved. Violet eyes, the colour of deep velvet, scanned across the crowd of trainees and recruits. They were all chatting animatedly amongst themselves, but the young woman did not join in. She stood apart from the group, close enough to still be counted but far enough to be clearly separate.

  She let out a sigh and crossed her arms over her chest. Several others glanced at her, but she did no more than look at them briefly and nod. She knew she was coming off as cold and stand-offish… but in all honesty, she was simply too intimidated to go near them. The young woman wasn’t much of a socializer. Desperately, she wished that the only three friends she had made so far were there with her – but alas, they had been placed in different training sessions.

  The young woman brushed her dark hair out of her eyes with a gloved hand before crossing them back over her breastplate. She sighed quietly once again, trying to settle the queasiness in her stomach. She was nervous, that was for sure – though she had no need to be.

  Unlike some of the other trainees, she had had experience. At seventeen, the young woman had had her fair share of training and battles. She was a transfer from the Kingdom of Rendd, a Pria Knight… in training. The Guardians had come scouting for recruits… and upon seeing the young woman, they had arranged for her to complete her training as a knight and a Guardian.

  At around five-six with long dark hair and her violet eyes, the young woman looked nothing like one would expect a knight to look like. Yet the shining star-steel armour she wore, emblazoned with the crest of the Knights of Pria, said it all.

  She turned her eyes northward, wistfully gazing in the distance as she thought of Rendd Castle. She missed the home she had had for two years – though it was chilly in the barracks and not everyone had always been friendly, she had felt as if she was home.

  The crowd of trainees hushed suddenly as the captain of the Paladins, Artix Von Krieger, began to speak. The young knight turned her eyes back to the earth and watched as he motioned to them.

  “Everyone, everyone…” He called, most of the trainees looking up and stopping their warm ups to acknowledge their higher-up. “Listen for a moment, if you would. I would like to introduce you to your instructor for your training time spent here at the Guardian Tower… Guardian Maria Despair.”

  The young woman watched with mild interest as a woman, clad in alabaster Guardian armour, made her way to the front of the crowd. She tilted her head and examined their trainer. Blonde hair, blue eyes, fair height… she didn’t look like a warrior.

  But then again, neither did the young woman.

  The young woman snapped to attention as she heard someone calling to her. As the crowd of trainees separated from her, the young woman blinked. Looking at their instructor, she mouthed ‘me’ to the woman, eyebrows shooting up in surprise.

  As Maria nodded, the young woman slowly made her way to the front of the crowd.

  “What’s your name, girl?” The blonde asked.

  “R-Rayne… instructor. Rayne Anasi.” Rayne winced as she stuttered, cursing herself inwardly. She hadn’t meant to, and she thought it made her seem weak – a remnant of her less than wonderful past. Nervously, she looked at the crowd. “I… didn’t volunteer.”

  Maria Despair simply smiled and flashed her pearly whites at Rayne.

  “I know.”

  And with that, she attacked.

  Rayne was barely able to draw her blade in time. Steel met steel met with a loud clash, and Rayne stumbled back a few steps before finding her footing and pushing back against Maria. The two were at a deadlock, before the blonde Guardian happily slipped around Rayne, slicing at her from a different angle.

  “I thought you were supposed to be teaching us how to parry!?” Rayne cried, meeting and holding the blow just in time.

  “I am!” Maria responded cheerfully, drawing back once again to aim at Rayne from yet another angle. “You’re supposed to parry me!”

  And so the dance continued. The crowd of adventurers, new and seasoned ones alike, watched as the young knight fended off the attacking guardian, her movements growing increasingly frantic as the blonde Guardian came after her.

  “See, people,” Maria pointed out as she took a lunge at Rayne, “Rayne over here has good form, and she’s properly parrying my blows. I want you all to take up your training swords and do just as she does, alright?”

  Despite the somewhat stunned silence, the crowd, for the most part, began to do just that. As Maria continued her assault on Rayne, they took up their own arms and began to fight one another, watching the knight and the Guardian’s battle for their own reference. All the while, Maria continued her assault on the younger woman.

  “What kind of training lesson is this!?” Rayne gaped, countering Maria’s blow.

  “A practical one.” The blonde responded cheerfully. “I mean, I could just show you what a parry looks like, step by step – but what better way is there to show it but in battle? It’s not as if the next opponent you meet will be willing to go through the forms with you step by step.”

  “But still!” Knight countered yet another blow, deflecting it successfully. “Some of these recruits are green as grass! They’ve probably never held a sword in their lives! Don’t you think-“

  “Don’t you think that I’m the Guardian here, and not you?” Maria responded, her voice never losing its cheerful quality. “ I know what I’m doing, girl. Don’t they teach you manners in Rendd? I thought you were all supposed to be uptight and super respectful?”

  “Uptight!?” That sent Rayne’s blood boiling. Her face darkened, eyes flashing almost dangerously. Catching Maria’s blow on the hilt of her blade, Rayne shifted slightly, her stance changing from defensive to offensive in a heartbeat. Watching Maria carefully, Rayne feinted left before switching sides, aiming for a blow to Maria’s exposed right shin…

   …Only to find herself meeting nothing but air, as Maria deftly sidestepped her attack. Stumbling, Rayne fought to keep her balance, and almost did.

  Until Maria brought the pommel of her sword down on Rayne’s back, forcing the woman down onto the ground. As she fell, a foot rose and planted itself solidly in the back-plate of Rayne’s chest piece, pinning the girl to the ground, whilst the other kicked her weapon away. Out of the corner of her eye, Rayne watched as Maria’s blade rose and fell the tip of it stopping but inches away from her neck.

  Knowing the signs of defeat, Rayne hefted a sigh.

  “I yi-“

  “Damn straight you do.” Maria said bluntly. Looking around and noting how the other recruits paused, Maria pulled back. Sheathing her sword, she did, however, keep her foot planted on Maria’s back. “Tomorrow, we learn attacking. But right now, I want to see you parry!”

  As her students turned back to their own battles, Maria nodded in satisfaction. Beneath her, Rayne wiggled, turning and glaring upwards.

  “Why won’t you get off of me? I told you already that I yi-“

  “No you don’t.”

  “What do you mean I don-“

  “Yielding is lesson three.”

  -

  Rayne groaned as she entered her room in the Guardian barracks. Being a new recruit, she and the others were sent to the lowest part of the tower – not that she minded. She didn’t plan on being here for very long- she was determined to move up in the ranks as soon as possible. Rayne wasn’t one to climb through the ranks like ladders – but there was no way, after the time she had spent as a Pria knight, that she would stay at the bottom.

  Reaching down across her body, she slowly unbuckled the straps of her plate armour. With stiff hands and slow movements, she managed to pull the armour off – and when she had removed the last piece, she immediately collapsed on her bed and let out a long, low groan.

She was sore from head to toe. Her body was positively throbbing from the training she had undergone. Maria had insisted, even after Rayne had yielded, that the battle continue – and so it had. Throughout the whole training session, Maria had constantly attacked Rayne. The blonde hadn’t been able to get any blows in, ones that would be considered lethal anyways but she might as well have, from the way that Rayne was feeling at that moment.

  Right then, Rayne heard a knock on the door.

  “Rayne?” A voice, high and feminine, sounded outside the door. “Can I come in?”

  Rayne merely grumbled in response. “Go ‘way.”

  Rather than leave, as Rayne had so asked, the door burst open. With a sway in her hips and a smile on her face, a redheaded woman strutted in and immediately leaped onto Rayne’s bed, landing dangerously close to the knight’s head.

  “I thought I told you to go ‘way?” Rayne’s words were muffled as she pressed her face into her pillow, still not moving.

  “And when have you ever stopped me before?” The woman asked, grin mischievous.

  “I hate you, Elizabeth.”

  “Full name? Ooh. Scary.” Elizabeth laughed, green eyes sparkling as she reached a hand out and patted the prone woman on the head.  Crossing a pale leg above the knee, Elizabeth sat back on Rayne’s bed, holding herself up with her hands. ”As if you could ever hate me, Rayne.”

  Looking down at her friend, Liz swung her legs playfully, still hanging them over the side of the bed. “How did training go?”

  “Horrible.” Rayne groaned, turning her head to the side and pressing her cheek against her pillow.

  “That bad, huh?” Liz made a sympathetic face. “It was like that for me oo.I mean, I knew having to go back to basics was hard, considering we have training already… but you have to be patient with the newbies. Some of them have never even seen a sword before, let alone held one… so if the instructor takes it slow-“

  “She didn’t.”

  “Hm?” Lizzie blinked. Orange strands of hair fell over her shoulder as she turned those green eyes back onto Rayne.

  Slowly, the girl managed to turn over to lie on her back. She stared up at the veiling, trying to ignore the pain going through her body as she spoke. “She made me her personal training dummy. Rather than showing the rest of the recruits how to parry step-by-step, she started attacking me and expected me to parry everything she threw at me!”

  “Your instructor sounds better than mine.”

  “My instructor is batshit insane.” Rayne muttered, rolling her eyes.

  BANG

  Both women jumped as they heard the loud sound, a heavy blow against Rayne’s door.

  “Y-yes?” Rayne called, struggling to  push herself up. Her arms screamed in protest, and she bit her lip to keep herself from crying out. “Who is it?”

  “Anasi!?” A familiar voice cheerfully called out, muffled only by the wood.

  Rayne froze, nearly falling back onto her front. Heart leaping into her throat, she had to swallow it back down as she realized that the person speaking to her through the door… was Maria. Lizzie looked between the door and Rayne, eyebrows raising. With a mixture of fear and apprehension in her eyes, Rayne’s own gaze slid from Lizzie’s to the door.

  “Instructor?”

  “How are you feeling, Anasi?”

  “I…” Rayne looked down at herself. Trailing her eyes over the multiple bruises and welts all over her body she swallowed thickly. “I’m alright.”

  “Good!” The Guardian’s voice was light and airy, and full of energy and pep as she spoke. “Great job today. I expect to see you on the training field tomorrow, bright and early.  Be there.”

  “I will, Instructor.”

  “So obedient.” Maria laughed. “Like a little dog. See you tomorrow then, Anasi.”

  Maria’s voice seemed to fade off as she moved away from the door. Rayne looked at Lizzie and sighed.

  “Oh, and Anasi?”

  Rayne’s gaze turned to the door again… and she let out a loud, audible yelp as she saw the tip of a blade come clear through the wood of her door. When Maria spoke again, her voice was sugar sweet and dripping with poison.

  “If you ever call me batshit crazy again, I will kick your ass so hard that you’ll find yourself flying back to Rendd. Don’t disrespect your commanding officer. Understood?”

  Rayne could barely believe her eyes as she stared at the metallic glint of the knife. Swallowing once again, she opened her mouth – and in a high pitched, strangled voice, she managed to squeak out a “Yes.”

  “Excellent!” Maria cheered, voice back to its normal pitch and timbre. “In that case, once again, I’ll see you tomorrow Anasi. Don’t be late, because tomorrow, we start overhand attacks!”

  Lizzie and Rayne were silent. As Maria’s voice faded, for good this time, Lizzie turned to Rayne and looked at her with wide eyes.

  “I’ve got to get into your combat training class.”

[writinglunacy]

~Xenolord~ Cascade of Time (Working title, leave me alone.)

This is the first chapter of 'Cascade of Time'. (CAN IT! If you've got a better friggin' name I'm all ears!) It's basically an Alternate Universe Reboot of the Adventure Quest chain myself and Dark Angel did years ago. Enjoy.

--

Maria was awoken that day to the pounding of a gauntleted hand on the fairly flimsy wooden door, mixed with the cruel tauntings of the sun pouring through the open window, cackling as she fruitlessly attempted to block Evil Mister Sun from her view.

“Maria! It's time to get up!” Came a voice from the door, the bed-headed woman in the bed slowly sitting up, her blond, slightly curly hair falling about her face as she looked around through sleep-adled blue eyes. “C'mon Maria. You've got your first day of training the newbies, you can't be late.”

“Mmmmm....” Maria groaned as she slowly sat out of bed, rubbing her face with a hand. “Fuggin'...” Whatever words were to follow her classy outburst were stifled by a great yawn as she stood up, her feet slapping lightly against the wooden floor. Even in the white-wash of light from the window, the girl's light tan skin, Caucasian in appearance, was shining brilliantly as she tastelessly, and very unwomanly, scratched her stomach as she surveyed her surroundings. “I'm out of bed, Moon Called... dun worry, I'mma not gonna be late...” She groaned as she slowly plodded over to the basin to wash her face and arms. First day after graduating as a Guardian, and they already had her training some of the newcomers. She had met her class earlier in the week, shortly before her graduation. Most of them look like a group of sloppy nothings, farmers and seamstress' kids who've never held a sword or cast a spell in their lives, and it was Maria's job to make sure, by the end of her six month session, to be able to do just that.

Maria reached for the hem of her tank top and pulled it off, taking the opportunity to stretch while she was at it. Ugh... those last few nights of eating more then she should were starting to rear their ugly heads... She had gained three pounds in the last two weeks... her once slim and curvy body now a little more curvy, and slightly less slim. “Look like a damn muffin with tits...” She continued to groan, cupping her breasts with both hands, pushing them up. She had an impressive chest, sitting somewhere around the vicinity of a high-C, low-D cup, which filled the armor she had made for her perfectly. “...keep eating for ten and it won't though...” she continued to think aloud as she swore under her breath, unbuttoning her cut-off shorts and pushing them around her ankles. Taking a few steps back, Maria looked at herself in the polished mirror.

Maria Despair stood at around five ten, weighing in at a hundred and seventy pounds; most of which accentuated by a mild, yet attractive layer of muscle across her entire body. Though nowhere near body builder status, one could see the undulations of her muscles in her arms, legs and stomach. Most men of Battleon consider her build ideal (even if she could kick most of their asses in a stand-up fight). Maria disliked looking at herself in the mirror. It reminded her of exactly how ordinary she was, even as far as Guardians were concerned... and she hated beyond hatred the idea of her blending into a crowd. She wanted... no... she needed to stand out.

Tossling her blond hair, she tried collecting it behind her head... pulling it into two pigtails... just... any new style she could try without looking like she just got out of bed. Her slightly curly blond hair was a bit of her pride and joy... but she couldn't for the life of her get it to do what she wanted. It frizzed when it wanted to, it flew about like parchment in the wind with even the slightest gust, and most irritating of all... bedhead.

As the morning flow often went, as Maria tried to make her hair sit, stay, and play dead, her eyes invariably went to her face in the mirror. She had a face Artix often described as 'eternally young' and 'full of life'. Though somewhat cute and rounded, Maria's face was one of a warrior. Strong cheeks, a powerful chin and eyes that commanded a mix of respect and fear, many of the Guardians were jealous of Maria for just that reason... sometimes... even Maria herself was jealous of her.

“Are you going to stop admiring yourself in the mirror sometime this century, Maria, or are you going to want to be bronzed for future generations to admire?” Maria gave a little jump at the sudden burst of speech from the door. It was Moon Called again, the girl probably looking through the keyhole. Maria smiled and gave a little spin on her heel.

“Bronzing sounds nice... just make sure I look happy when you go through with it.” Moon Called laughed a little on the other side of the door.

“Will do, Maria. Be down in the training grounds in half an hour. Your first day is today.” Maria grunted a response as she opened a drawer near her bed, taking out a light tunic and a very comfortable pair of panties, putting them on with a slow, methodical hand.

-

Dressed in some semblance of dignity, Maria walked out of her room, shutting and locking the oaken door behind her, into the cold, stone hallway of the Guardian Tower. As she slowly made her way around the tower to the stairs down, she listened to the daily chatter of several girls her age waking up for the day to come. The Guardian Tower; the massive, looming structure in the center of the town of Battleon, was in actuality, three towers. The larger, central structure between the smaller towers was the actual 'Guardian Tower', and the only one of the three buildings open to public access. The ground floor of the tower was a lobby/reception area where Guardians could meet with their non-Guardian friends or family without putting anyone in any real danger. Above the lobby was the Situation Room, where a massive map of Lore was spread across an equally large table, showing little pins on the map for any point of interest (military, political or otherwise) that sprung up on Lore.

Above the situation room was the Guardian Breifing Room. This is where any Guardian or Guardians who were sent on missions anywhere on Lore were brought up to speed of the mission's details by their commander, in this case, Artix Krieger. The floor above that was the Combat Preperation Room, more commonly referred to as, simply, the Locker Room. Though there were no real 'lockers' in this room, it was an armory of sorts, where all the Guardian's weapons and armor was stored when not in use. The Combat Prep room was also where the bridges to the two dorm towers connected, one for male Guardians, and the other for Female Guardians. Both bridges were enchanted by a very powerful mage when the Guardian Tower was built to prevent anyone of the opposite gender from crossing the bridge. Maria smiled fondly as she remembered a time when Wolfblitzer tried to cross the bridge to the Female Dorms... watching his feet slip and slide like he was walking on ice was the funniest thing she's seen in a long while.

“Mornin' Maria.” Speaking of Wolfblitzer, the black-haired Guardian was busy trying to squeeze into his leg armor at the time, his second foot not wanting to sqeeze into the steel.

“Morning Wolfblitzer. Having a problem getting your pants on.”

“Oh, come on, Maria. You know me. Whenever you're around, I can't seem to keep my pants...” He grunted a little as he managed to push his leg all the way through. “...on.” He finished, looking up with a smile, Maria returning with a groan as she went to her own armor, standing on a wrought iron stand, and began to dress.

Unfortunately, one of the problems with plate armor is it DOES take a while to get on... especially when you're busy doing it all by yourself. After a solid twenty minutes struggling with the armor, she finally managed to beat it into submission and stand, her boots clacking loudly against the stone floor. Maria's Guardian Armor was not standard at all. When Guardians are in training, they are issued a standard variation of the Guardian Armor, gunmetal gray plate with yellow trim, a yellow cape to match. However, upon your graduation, Guardians are permitted to customize the color of their armor and cape to their heart's content. Maria's was a unique sight to all, and even looking at her from the rear, one could tell who it was.

With a cloak of pure ivory, and armor of a shimmering alabastor, Maria's armor reflected more then just the jealous looks of onlookers. With two minutes to spare, Maria managed to head down to the lobby and out the rear gate, to the training grounds where dozens upon dozens of Guardians-In-Training, their armor a dead giveaway, sparred with one another in their morning warm-up routines. Maria recognized Artix von Krieger amongst the others as he watched the class go through their warm-ups. He smiled as he watched Maria step out onto the green, waving her over. “Everyone, everyone...” He called, most of the trainees looking up and stopping their warm ups to acknowledge their higher-up. “Listen for a moment, if you would. I would like to introduce you to your instructor for your training time spent here at the Guardian Tower... Guardian Maria Despair.” He opened his hand to the girl, who advanced and nodded, thanking him silently as he allowed her her two cents.

“Thank you, Captain. Good morning everyone, my name is Maria Despair, and I'll be your instructor. It's a pleasure to meet you all.” Everyone in the group bowed and echoed a 'Good morning Instructor Despair' in their cumulative tone. Maria smiled at everyone, and motioned for them to pick up their swords. “Alright, we're going to start with something easy today. I trust you covered form, grip and flow in your basic training courses, so we'll skip that and jump right into basics of combat. From what I saw of your warm ups, most, if not all of you are farily skilled. That's always good. We're going to start with the basic parry today. I need a volunteer.” She watched as three tentative hands went up in the crowd, one belonging to a young boy with red hair, the second belonging to a smug looking boy with deep sapphire hair, and the third belonging to a girl with brown hair spiked into a mace head. Maria looked about, and picked someone who looked THRILLED to be there at that time.

“You, in the back. Black hair. Look like she's going to a funeral.” The girl looked around as everyone separated from her. The girl looked at Maria, pointed to herself and mouthed 'me?'. Maria nodded. Slowly, shes tarted making her way to the front. “What's your name, girl.”

“R-Rayne... Instructor. Rayne Anasi.” She looked at the crowd, and spoke again. “I... didn't volunteer.” Maria only gave a wide grin, her pearly teeth shining off the ambient sunlight as she nodded.

“I know.”

[writinglunacy]

Introductions are in Order! Part Dos

~Xenolord~

Hello all you happy people! My name is Xenolord. I am the second administrator slash owner slash Asylum Warden for this blog. As my sister said, we'll be putting our collective works here!

Dark Angel (or Timelessword-pricelesspictures as she's known as here) and I have been good friends for a while, and (I'm not tooting my own horn here at all) I helped Dark Angel grow as, not only a writer, but as a person as well. In return, however, she's also helped me grow. Not just as a writer, but most assuredly as a person. So when I was asked to do a co-op story with her? Fuck. Yes.

Me? You don't want to know about me. I'm crazy. REALLY crazy. I like Video Games, reading and writing. That's all you need to know. All of my posts will be tagged at the beginning with ~Xenolord~.

[writinglunacy]

Introductions are in order

Hi. I'm Aly. My pen-name is The Darklight Angel. Welcome to the writing page. This tumblog is a collborative writing blog between myself and Xenolord. We'll be putting out collborative works here. Links to our own respective blogs can be found above.

A little more about myself as a writer. I've been writing since 2006 officially, thanks to the classy sir Xenolord. The good sir has been a mentor/ older brother figure to me since then, and has helped me grow as a writer. I've written in the Wicked fandom, Adventure Quest, Glee, and various others. Currently I've been focusing more on an original piece of mine entitled Kidding. If you're interested in more, check out my blog.

On me? I like video games, corgis, animals, reading, writing. I'm a geek extraordinaire.