U&U Valadirian Conquest (VER2)

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U&U Valadirian Conquest (VER2)

Post by Krytus The Dreamer »

Round two here we go! But it isn't the first chapter yet. I'm still ironing out all the details i want to change and making sure the plot line is where i want it to be. So in the mean time enjoy this little snippet (Or Prologue if you prefer) of what's to come.

(just realizing now that i didn't put a proper introduction to this.... oh well better late than never)

Celestials are magnificent beings of boundless, almost limitless powers. One would think that beings such as these were above entertainment. Alas, eternity feels dull after a few millenia give or take. Celestials yearn for excitement, something to challenge their time immune minds, something that lights a flame in their being; enter The Game.

This is no ordinary game, not even by their own standards. Here their Celesital abilities are dampened, but challenge exists. Pride, reputations and social standings are on the line. They are challenged, and they will rise to the occasion.

Follow the adventures of a certain four-tailed fox as he leads his pantheon to victory. This is their story; this is their legend.


Prologue
What’s to Come

A lone white wolf sat at the edge of a cliff enjoying the winds as it flowed through his fur. Fear was the furthest thing from his mind, with the sight of a breath taking sunset atop a sea of trees right in front of his eyes how could he be afraid. Rather he was tranquil, calm, the most peaceful he had been in weeks, and it was all thanks to the view in front of him.

It was also thanks to the peace and quiet that the wolf was able to hear his friend coming minutes in advance “You know, considering my condition, it actually makes me laugh a little to know that i beat you to the top. Rough day in the war room?” He didn’t need to look back the wolf knew that his fox friend was already a few steps away from him

“You know how the boss is;” The four tailed fox sat down next to him “every single minute detail has to be set in stone before everyone leaves. You’re lucky you get to skip out on it for a while.”

“He can be a bit… exessive at times. Trust me, I should know.” The wolf laughed heartily before settling down to let the tranquility of the moment return

The Fox knew how much the Wolf loved the view they were witnessing. Be it sunrise or sunset, the wolf would be at this exact spot waiting to send off the sun on its morning routine or on its scheduled slumber, that is if he was able to anyway. Their missions had them away from the wolf’s beloved spot and all over the different realms this world had to offer. However so far none have measured up to the view from the mountain.

As much as the Fox enjoyed the view, there was only so much he could take of silence and he needed to start a conversation quickly “So… how are you feeling today? Can we expect you back on the front lines any time soon?”

“Everything seems to be in order.” The wolf sighed, his sights still set on the lowering sun “The joints do still need a bit of finetunning. With the right adjustments these might even be better than… my… old ones.” the topic suddenly caused the wolf’s ears to lower

The fox mentally slapped himself for bringing down his friend’s mood. Ever since it happend its always been a trick subject to talk around. Its always been a big elephant in the room and was the biggest hurdle in getting the wolf to open up to the team again. The fox panicked as his mind raced to find a solution to remedy the situation before it could get any worse.

“Hey, I just remembered we need to celebrate.” The fox reached into his locket and pulled out three popcicle sticks, before handing one over to the wolf and sticking the second one upright into the ground “C’mon its my favorite. I know you’ll like it.”

“Isn’t bringing more advnaced things like this into archaic worlds a big break in the rules?” The wolf hesitated to take one and pushed it back

“Aw, quit your worrying.” the fox shoved it into his hands anyway “It is literally just milk mixed in with a few select ingredients, frozen slightly with a stick in the middle.” He took a quick bite out of his popcicle stick “Who could it hurt?”

With no other option the wolf accepted the popcicle and took a bite out of it “Alright you sly fox, what’s the occasion?”

“Well for starters you made it to the summit without any help whatsoever,” The fox continued to savor his popcicle “and to our friendship because reasons.”

“Gee I didn’t realize that you also brought cheese flavored ice cream with you.” The wolf mocked the fox as he chuckled at the reasons for a celebration

Even though it wasn’t all too funny, the fox soon found himself laughing along side the wolf. He didn’t know exactly why, it just felt good to laugh when a friend was laughing as well. Eventually both the wolf and the fox fell flat on their backs and onto a soft layer of grass. They had the perfect view to watch all the orange fade from the sky.

As the sun continued to set the laughter began to die down and quiet ressumed. Soon the popcicles were finished except for one which had melted into a puddle next to the fox. The wolf couldn’t help but notice this too and sighed in dissapointment

“He’s not coming is he?”
9-20-19 19-1-12-20-25 ... 2-21-20 19-23-5-5-20

***

What most mortals fail to understand is that even we Celestials are shackled to the confines of Fate. It may not be as apparant but it is fact. When I try to look back on what memories i have left, I see Fate working in the background. Out of all the victories and tragedies, all the celestials and mortals, it all began the moment I first met him; when I came to Valadir for a second time.
Last edited by Krytus The Dreamer on Tue Mar 13, 2018 9:26 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: U&U Valadirian Conquest (VER2)

Post by D-Rock »

So we're starting like 358/2 days. Let's get ready to get depressed.
Faith doesn't change circumstances. Faith changes me.
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Re: U&U Valadirian Conquest (VER2)

Post by ChekeBello »

The wait almost nothing for u to start this version, ydk how glad I'm for that XD
Now what takes us to this point is something I dying to know >w<
D-Rock wrote:So we're starting like 358/2 days. Let's get ready to get depressed.
Yeah, the vibe surely echoes that one intro scene (and the coded msg is just the icing on the cake). And we already know things didn't ended well, so you're probably right... *grabs a tissue box* ok, now i'm ready!
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Re: U&U Valadirian Conquest (VER2)

Post by Krytus The Dreamer »

D-Rock wrote:So we're starting like 358/2 days. Let's get ready to get depressed.
pffft whaaaaaaaat i'm sure i don't know what you're talking about *subtly pushes recently acquired KH game under bed*

ChekeBello wrote:The wait almost nothing for u to start this version, ydk how glad I'm for that XD
Now what takes us to this point is something I dying to know >w<
D-Rock wrote:So we're starting like 358/2 days. Let's get ready to get depressed.
Yeah, the vibe surely echoes that one intro scene (and the coded msg is just the icing on the cake). And we already know things didn't ended well, so you're probably right... *grabs a tissue box* ok, now i'm ready!
Well I guess you'll have to wait, chapters 1 & 2 are done and a bigger change to chapter 3 before completely writing chapter 4 from scratch. also icing on the cake :lol: i get it.

Chapter 01
Game On

The atmosphere was calm. A slight breeze combed through the air and passed the golden fur of a four tailed fox as he enjoyed the scenery for what it was. His eyes were shut. He’s stayed at his current spot for a while now, and at this point the four tailed fox knew what surrounded him by heart.

Lush, green and healthy trees were abundant and spread as far as the eye could see. Light from the distant moon seemed to paint the clear water from the distant lake as sparkling sapphires. Highlighted by the same light was a mountain range the only came so close to the mountain the fox currently sat on. Truly it was a masterpiece only mother nature could paint. However, the fox chose to enjoy more than the view.

The scenery was gorgeous of course but there was more to it than that. It was the sounds of the leaves gently rustling behind him. The whisperings of the wind in his highly trained ears. Even the distant resonating thunder added to the atmosphere he surrounded himself it. It was tranquil, and the four tailed fox reveled in it. That is until the sound of sharp ringing cut through the air, mercilessly ruining the symphony of nature.

Despite the sudden sound disturbance, the fox opened his eyes with a wide grin beginning to form on his muzzle. He parted his hands to reveal that in his grip was a black diamond shaped locked. In its center was a strange stone that shifted colors every now and again hypnotically. However that didn’t distract the fox in the slightest, instead he unlinked the chains so that he could wrap it around his neck and begin his journey.

As soon as the locket was linked around his neck, the beautiful scenery that the fox chose to listen to melted away. In place of nature’s blend of greens, blues and whites, the scenery melted into nothing but inky black darkness with four exceptions. Surrounding the fox on all sides were four doors each decorated in their own unique fashion.

In front of the fox stood a door decorated with a shield that had the following inscription “Be it sword or spell, do you choose to protect those around you?”

To his left was a door decorated with an open palm that had the following call to arms “through desperate and hopeless times do you choose to make others stand tall instead of yourself?”

On his right was a door decorated with a cross inside of a circle of leaves and bore the following mantra “When cries for help are sounded, do you choose to answer that call?”

Finally the one behind him was decorated with a sword and bore the following motto “No matter the most dire of circumstances, or riskiest fo chances of you choose to draw your weapon?”

To the four tailed fox there was no thinking about it, he knew what he wanted to do and stood proudly in front of the door marked with a sword as the words shifted for him to read aloud “I, Kitsune, choose to draw my sword, no matter the most dire of circumstances, or the riskiest of chances.”

Once his choice was made, the other three doors faded away into the darkness. There was no turning back now and Kitsune didn’t care in the slightest. This was what he wanted. Inside the door of his choice was a plain white shirt, a pair of rawhide pants, and a sword resting atop the articles of clothing.

While putting on the pieces of clothing Kitsune found that the were all a perfect fit. Not too tight to restrict any movements whatsoever, but at the same time not too loose that it would fall off. Next was his sword, and as Kitsune weighed it in his hand, he found that it too was perfectly calibrated for him. Just the right length and weight a balanced weapon would have for a Celestial of his stature.

“So, you chose the offense category huh?” Behind Kitsune stood a tall white dragon with piercing red eyes

The dragon Kitsune was face to face with was clearly two heads taller than he was. Protecting that towering frame was battle worn set of armor that provided additional protection in conjunction with his scales. Two proud wings emphasized the warrior’s stature he seemed to have around him only to be heightened by the scars decorating his body. This dragon was no stranger to combat almost every aspect seemed to enhance the impression.

“Greetings, I am Tyr, and I will be one of you game masters.” the dragon lowered himself to a humble bow “Now I assume you’ve already read the rule book.”

“Nope” he responded nonchalantly with a matching grin

This caused Tyr to flinch before giving the still smiling fox a blank stare that looked like it could melt through steel “Seriously? Did anyone bother to read this? It was literally issued a hundred years ago.”

“I was busy alright, and besides I only got this thing yesterday.” Kitsune argued back with the book in question already in his hands

“You know what, nevermind.” Tyr sighed in frustration hastily “I’m having this exact conversation with thirty five other players, let's just skip the argument and get right down to what you need to know for now.”

Tyr clapped his hands together and when he pulled them apart nine different spheres came into being slowly expanding to their full size “Welcome to the world of Valadir. Known for its overflowing mana source as well as being the sturdiest of worlds. This unique sturdiness comes from its nine intertwining worlds, and allows celestials more leeway when using their abilities without destroying the entire plane of existence.”

“However thinking that it will never break is arrogant, so to remedy this we gave you those.” Tyr then pointed to the diamond shaped locket hanging around Kitsune’s neck “They’re called limiters, and as the name implies will limit your abilities. Over time as more mana is exposed to it the restrictions on your limiters will lessen and you will be able to do more. Think of it like your level, for now you are level one so you aren’t capable of doing much. Not only will this ensure the worst case scenario doesn’t happen, it should also help balance the game and keep everyone from being too overpowered right off the bat.”

“As it is blatantly obvious this version of the game is vastly different, and allows you to play on the battlefield rather than from a distance. However you cannot win this game alone, as such all players are randomly assigned a pantheon they must work with.” as Tyr continued to explain Kitsune began to notice the back of his left palm slowly marking itself with a three triangles intersecting at the center “Your goal, is to conquer all of Valadir.”

Just the mere mention of the goal he and his team would be working toward made Kitsune’s blood boil with excitement “Okay sounds simple enough, work together with a bunch of celestials to beat down other celestials. When does the game start?”

“Oh about that,” Kitsune noticed a grin that matched his own slowly form on the dragon’s muzzle “this was actually a last minute decision but before the game can really begin everyone must first complete a trial.”

“A trial?” Kitsune repeated with raised brows

“Each world is appointed a guardian, and you must defeat that guardian in order to claim a world. Your pantheon has two hours to do this, those who fail, will be barred from continuing the game. To make things a little more fair once a pantheon has already claimed a world they can’t occupy a second one yet.”

“Okay what about classes, or mortals, or avatars, or the crafting system?”

“I already explained the basics of the basics. Should you pass the trial, more will be revealed to you. Until then, good luck.”

Kitsune wanted to further his argument but Tyr beat him to the punch by snapping his fingers. In less than a second the darkness that surrounded Kitsune vanished along with Tyr and in its place was the intense heat coupled with the groaning of metal. It took a moment but when Kitsune’s eyes finally adjusted to the lighting he was greeted with the sight of an active forge. Anywhere one would look molten steel was flowing in and out of tunnels to be used elsewhere. Adding to the complexity of the scenery before Kitsune was an equally elaborate rail cart system that was still active carrying unprocessed ore and coal to and from destinations.

Snapping Kitsune out of his amazement was the sound of his locket suddenly coming to life“Game start!”

As soon as the announcement was made, the colors on Kitsune’s locket shifted till it made a countdown from two hour mark. Accompanying the sudden urgency was the sound of explosions as well as metallic hissing and roaring far off in the distance. Under normal circumstances most folk would walk away from threatening monster noises of in the distance. Kitsune on the other hand headed straight for it.

From the moment he took his first few steps out into the open Kitsune was soon encountered with an increasingly complicated railway system of minecarts bobbing and weaving through the caves. It also didn’t help that the rocky terrain was making his travel time much more taxing than it should be. Kitsune had to be sure where he was headed, he couldn’t waste time by getting lost nor could he expend too much energy. Otherwise he’d be too exhausted to fight even before the fight began.

After passing through multiple tunnels and even hitching a ride on one of the passing minecarts Kitsune finally found his way to the core of the mine, and at first he didn’t know what he was looking at. It had to be the guardian, a group of celestials were already gathered around it trying to take it down but were stopped by metallic figures brought to life.

“It” looked to be a giant metal sphere stuck to the ceiling of a chamber. Every now and again huge spouts of flames would burst out and would soon be followed by a flow of molten metal that would collect on the floor. Once enough metal was gathered it would reshape itself until it was a metal tiger, snake or even human. Kitsune could only guess it was a living forge designed to take in any molten steel and use it for its own survival.

While Kitsune surveyed the scene before him, Kitsune almost failed to notice the group of metallic tigers closing in on him. It was only a fraction of a second but it was enough for Kitsune to draw his sword and parry the claws of the head tiger that pounced on him. Following up on his lucky parry Kitsune tripped himself and slid under tiger and made a run for it while the rest of the tigers were still caught off guard.

He was at a disadvantage. Kitsune only carried the starter weapon and had the starter armor. He couldn’t take on an entire squadron of metal tigers. Maybe if it was one or two he still had a chance if played his cards right, but since he was flying solo his best bet was to run straight into the chaos and hope he’d shake a few off in the crowd.

For a while it worked. Kitsune ducked and dodged through enemy celestials only to leave them with a metal tiger. Though eventually he ran out of crowd to lose the tigers through and the pack had him cornered off into a cliff. At that moment Kitsune was presented with two options either face the pack of tigers or plummet to his doom in a lake of molten steel. Unwilling to experience the death mechanic so soon after starting Kitsune chose the former and drew his sword.

“I’LL SAVE YOU!” came the battle cry of a blue blur as it rammed into one of the tigers in front of Kitsune

The force was enough to knock the tiger over the cliff and set those that remained on the edge of the blue blur that broke their ranks. Said blue blur was revealed to be a beautiful young woman wielding a sword and shield. She floated gracefully yet powerfully with the help of her four blue wings as she readied her two weapons for combat, only to lower them once she looked behind her.

“Kitsune?” she turned her back on the tigers “It’s you isn’t it? I can’t believe it you were invited too?”

Kitsune kept his sword point held up as he noticed the tigers closing in on them “Uh, Tsukuyomi, now might not be the best time to catch up.”

Kitsune’s warning came too late as the tiger pounced on Tsukuyomi. Since she was floating high enough, the tiger was able to push her over the edge and hang on. Tsukuyomi tried with all her might to fly herself back to the top but the tiger was too heavy and was fully able to drag her into the molten steel. Pressing their advantage further the remaining two tigers made their move. Kitsune lowered his center of gravity and managed to kick one tiger over the edge while driving the point of blade into the side of the last tiger.

Now that he was free, Kitsune took the time to look over the edge to see if Tsukuyomi made it out alright, but no trace of her was found “Yikes, that’s gotta hurt.”

“Yeah.” coughed Tsukuyomi “no kidding.”

It took a full second for Kitsune to process that Tsukuyomi had appeared right next to him. However, rather that completely meltdown at the fact that she was perfectly fine his eyes scanned her to find out how she could’ve possibly survived. His answer: she didn’t. Her form as somewhat see through and atop her head was a halo accompanied by a timer that was counting down from seven minutes.

“I guess we know the death mechanic works.” she laughed nonchalantly “Looks like I’ll be back in seven minutes. By the way which faction do you belong to Kitsune?”

“Wait, you mean to tell me that you saved me without knowing if i was part of your team or not?” Kitsune was dumbstruck at how distracted she was in the middle of battle

“Pretty much yes. Almost everyone was already gone i thought it was only my team left. Speaking of which there she is now.” Tsukuyomi pointed to a three headed dog as she brushed aside a pair of metal snakes like they were nothing

With line of sight established, the three headed dog lined up the shot before pulling her sword arm back. Once she had accounted for all variables the three headed dog let the sword in her hand fly till it eventually found its mark on one of the stems of metal keeping the living forge attached to the wall. Judging from the other swords wedged into the other supports the three headed dog had been repeating the routine for quite some time. At that point the supports could no longer do their jobs and gave way. The whole forge came crashing down unceremoniously, allowing the celestial warrior to walk away from the blast unfazed by the explosion.

“NICE WORK CERB!” Tsukuyomi cheered while flailing her arms in an excited manner “SHOW THAT HUNK OF METAL WHO’S BOSS!”

“Aw what!?” Kitsune groaned “I didn't even manage to land in a hit!”

The three headed dog adjusted the bangs on the center head “That’s too bad little fox, this I our territory now.” At those words Kitsune’s body started to radiate a soft red glow “bye bye now.” The leftmost head blew Kitsune a kiss before some unknown force yanked Kitsune off his feet backward

As Kitsune continued to fly backward the heat and warm dull colors of the mine began to melt away. It was replaced by its near polar opposite of darkness and cold rainy air. The sudden sensation of being yanked through the air came to an abrupt halt as his back impacted a hard stone wall.

While gingerly massaging his back Kitsune stood up to inspect his new surroundings. To his complete surprise it was familiar to him. The same vast spread of trees, the same lake in the distance. Kitsune was back to where he started, only this time he had no time to enjoy the scenery.

A quick look at his limiter revealed that he had already breached the one hour mark. There was no time to waste. He had to track the boss down, defeat it and most likely on his own. Kitsune still hasn't encountered a celestial that was on his side.

Before Kitsune could break out into a full run to figure out where the boss could possibly be, Kitsune noticed a pure white wolf knelt down not too far from where he was. From his attire of a white shirt and the same rawhide pants he was wearing Kitsune could tell he was a celestial, the only problem was whether he was friend or foe.

“You do realize that there’s only an hour left right?” Kitsune started nonchalantly, making the wolf flinch “I get that it’s frustrating to lose out on a territory but moping around isn't going to do you much good.”

The wolf rubbed his eyes before standing up to greet the fox properly “Uh, wait you’re in on the game too?” the wolf reached out to Kitsune with his left hand to shake

“Uh what does it look like?” Kitsune mirrored the wolf and held out his left hand “So, are you Friend or Foe?”

“Uh, I’m with, my~” The wolf stopped himself “I’m with this team.” He raised the back of his right hand to reveal the same mark Kitsune had

“Finally an ally, so what, you’re support I guess?” Kitsune gestured to the bow slung on his back

“I guess you could say that.” he said shly

“Awesome, not a lot of celestials opt for support, but you’ll definitely come in handy. I’m Kitsune by the way.”

“I’m Vidar, it’s nice to meet you.”

Cutting the conversation between the two celestials short was the sound of a loud thunderous boom. Kitsune’s ears swiveled to the sound of the boom, but it seemed to echo all around the two celestials. As a precaution Kitsune drew his sword while Vidar had his bow drawn. It could be anything from thunder acting up, to the realm boss that they had to take down.

Much to the surprise of the two celestials the threat actually came from above. Crashing onto both Vidar and Kitsune was the weight of two other beings. It wasn’t enough to kill them, but i was enough that they’d be feeling it for a good while. Due to their mysterious entry and ability to go to and survive such a height, Kitsune knew right away that they were celestials as well.

“That could’ve gone better.” the two celestials sighed in unison as they still remained atop Kitsune and Vidar

“PETE!?” came the first female sounding one

“DRAGON!?” cried the second voice sounding male like

“What are you doing here!?” Dragon shot up while dusting herself, it made sense, she was literally a dragon

Pete stood up slowly as he sheathed his shield and sword “Playing the game what does it look like?”

Dragon rolled her eyes “That’s not what I meant…” her face suddenly took on a more horrified look “Please don’t tell me.” She then grabbed Pete’s left hand and compared it to her’s only to find it bore the same marks Kitsune and Vidar had

“RANDOMLY ASSIGNED MY TAIL! Of all the other thirty five celestials I could’ve been assigned to I get you!?” Pete fumed as he kicked the cliff wall

While the two began to argue, Kitsune took the time to look over Vidar who was still recovering from cushioning both Pete and Dragon’s fall. Since there was no debilitating damage Kitsune turned his attention to his two new teammates. Obviously Dragon was a dragon, but she was slender in physique with green and light green scales. Pete was a griffon with blue feathers for his avian half and a standard brown for his lion half. Both of them wore the standard starter outfit, but what really set the two apart was their weapons.

Dragon had a staff, and since Vidar was a support class with a bow, Kitsune guessed that she was classified under healer. Pete on the other hand had a shield in addition to his sword as opposed to Kitsune who only had a sword. This made him logically a tank since that was the only starter weapon he hadn’t encountered yet.

A defense player, a healer, an offense and a support. Kitsune couldn’t believe his luck. Due to the nature of celestials constantly trying to one up each other they were most likely to take up roles in the spotlight. Defense were somewhat chosen by a few, though mostly for their larger than average health pools instead of wishing to protect the team. Offensive classed players were the most common, too common in fact, it wasn’t a surprise to see most teams clogged with only offense players. Supports and healers were a rare occurrence considering they put emphasis on the others thud taking their time away from the spotlight and giving it to someone else. Having one from each category was something someone could only dream of considering this was a randomly assigned group. Kitsune’s only real problem now was getting the group to work together.

Even as Kitsune blanked out to analyse the group’s current situation both Pete and Dragon continued to argue while Vidar remained unsure of how to intervene. Snapping quickly out of his thoughts Kitsune pulled out his limiter and checked the timer once more. A sudden sense of urgency filled Kitsune’s veins when it revealed that it went down by six minutes since the last time he had checked it.

“Guys,” Kitsune tried to intervene between the two arguing celestials but was immediately ignored

“This coming from the guy who turned his avatar into a pig for disobeying you only once… by accident.” dragon argued back “Every time we play this game it s always the same problem with you being salty over something or someone.”

“GUYS!” Kitsune reasserted himself “Get a grip! We don’t have the time to waste on petty squabbles like this! Like it or not we’re a team now and we have to pull together” Kitsune then held out his locket and presented it to Pete and Dragon “We’re down to less than an hour!”

Kitsune’s yelling seemed to have done the trick. Both Pete and Dragon stopped yelling at each other and for a while no one dared to speak. All the could be heard was the sound of rain continuously dropping from the sky and the thunder that roared every so often.

“Well do you know where the boss is then?” Pete huffed arrogantly

Kitsune paused. He may have yelled at them to stop fighting, but he didn’t know where he would be going next. All he wanted was for them to stop arguing and try to put their heads together to work as a team. They were assigned to be one, they might as well start acting like it.

“I might i have an idea,” Vidar added hesitantly as he broke the silence that settled “I think it’s up there.” he then pointed to the mountain’s peak where Kitsune sat not too long ago

“How can you tell?” Dragon asked skeptically

Vidar gestured to the clouds “I mean just look at it. Doesn’t that look like the stereotypical place a boss would be placed?”

“Of course it would be there.” Kitsune facepalmed as he began his trek upward “C’mon, like i said we don’t have a lot of time to waste.”

“Wait we’re going to climb the remainder of this mountain all on a hunch? How can you tell it’s right?” Pete looked at the trek upwards with a depan stare

“You got any better ideas?” Kitsune replied, causing dragon to think on it and follow both Vidar and Kitsune to the top with Pete lagging slightly behind

Despite what it might look like on the surface, Kitsune was favored by fortune multiple times in the span of a few short minutes. His entire team were spawned two-thirds of the way to the summit, which required at minimum ten minutes of walking. This left Kitsune’s team with a budget of thirty minutes to fight off and defeat the boss. Using the living forge as a reference Kitsune estimated that the boss fight should take at least ten minutes to beat. The team Kitsune had to work with was well rounded out, with one member specializing in one of the four categories. Theoretically they could work with the time they had left; that is, if the others knew what they were doing as well as willing to work together.

As expected the trek didn’t consume too much of the time they had left, and once the group had reached the summit they didn’t find anything too out of the ordinary. Aside from the familiar tree there was nothing waiting for Kitsune and the team. Still, instincts spoke volumes and Kitsune felt that something was coming for them.

After a few short moments of being at the peak, the ground began to shake underneath them. While all four celestials struggled to keep their balance beams of light shot around the peak forming a cube like prison before fading away into nothing. Shortly after, loud banging thuds could be heard all around them, as if someone was playing the drums of war. All celestials instinctively fell into formation with their backs against each other. The boss could come from anywhere, attack with anything. They had to be ready.

The loud thuds got increasingly louder, until eventually the monster poked its head above the cliff and sounded a mighty roar. Overall, the beast had an alligator like appearance, but as it pulled its body over the cliff edge it revealed an extra pair of limbs. Its entire body glowed in a ghostly pale light and was somewhat transparent. Amidst its terrifying features of fangs, and multiple eyes Kitsune recognized a sword pinned to the creature’s skull next to a scar that dragged over one of its multiple eyes.

“SIERRA STALKER!” Kitsune yelled once he noticed its tail winding up for an attack “SPREAD OUT; DON’T LET IT KNOCK YOU OFF THE SIDE OF THE MOUNTAIN!”

As Kitsune screamed out his warning the Stalker flicked its tail violently at the group of celestials. Thanks to Kitsune’s warning however the group managed to avoid such an attack. Once the creature failed to hit its mark, it crawled over the side of the mountain, circling its prey. Kitsune had to get everyone in line again, it was toying with them, trying to pick them off one by one.

Kitsune ran towards the center while keeping his ears trained for the Stalker’s movement “Everyone form up! It likes to toy with its prey!”

“How do you know all this?” Vidar asked as he joined me followed by Dragon and soon Pete

“Now’s not the time!” Kitsune argued as the Stalker’s tail lashed out from the ledge and slapped down

Luckily it didn’t hit anyone of Kitsune’s team but it was incredibly close. Due to the nature of the landscape surrounding them, there wasn’t a lot of room to move around. Out of all of them Pete was the least affected since he had his wings to help him maneuver around. It, however was the reverse for their opponent, giving it superior mobility and the element of surprise.

Kitsune looked around for anything they could use to their advantage. Game Masters wouldn’t put too much difficulty on the first boss players would encounter. That large a creature combined with its mobility would take a long while to finish off. With their time frame Kitsune and his team didn’t have the time to waste on the boss. There had to be something that offsets the difficulty of the game.

As the beast came in for another strike, Kitsune caught a brief glimpse of its forehead, specifically the sword still stuck to it. It was blatantly obvious that the creature was long dead, the battle scars and ghostly glow gave it away. What Kitsune failed to realize was that the sword stuck to its head was the anchor keeping its spirit bound to the plane. If they could take it out they wouldn’t have to drain the boss’ life down to zero.

Now armed with his latest discovery Kitsune made a quick assessment of what would be the best use of everyone’s current abilities “Guys! Our target is the sword on its head! Defense, keep its attention focused on you! Support, try as hard as you can to knock the sword lose with one of your arrows! Healer make sure everyone is good to go on health!”

“Who died and made you boss!?” Pete argued, too stubborn to move from his position

Giving off a frustrated huff, Dragon kicked Pete into action “Just do it ya big baby! Your role as defense is to protect everyone else, not so that you can avoid being one shotted!”

Once again Kitsune had his ears on high alert for the stalker on the side of the cliff. This time however instead of using that knowledge to predict where it’s tail would hit, Kitsune ran full speed towards the sound. Kitsune shut out all of his reawakened survival instincts and leaped off the cliff before the tail could strike. Sure enough the stalker was directly underneath the four tailed fox

Since he was too close to the tail for it to hit him, Kitsune managed to latch onto the scales on its torso and hang on tight. Kitsune’s presence on its back seemed to send it into a panic as its once simple movements began to shift into more erratic ones. It tried desperately to shake Kitsune off, but because the beast was hanging onto the side of a cliff, it was too dangerous to go all out since it could lose its footing. This forced the Stalker to climb back onto the platform where Kitsune’s team was already lying in wait.

The moment the beast was back on top of the mountain Kitsune started climbing his way towards the sword on its head. As Kitsune made his way up the Stalker’s body a whistling noise buzzed past his ears before a second came and then a third soon after. The fourth one managed to scathe my arm leaving behind a red mark where the arrow made its cut. It stung for a bit but soon the mark disappeared and returned to Kitsune’s regular golden fur color.

“VIDAR WATCH WHERE YOU’RE AIMING!” Kitsune yelled as he continued to struggle his way to the top “YOU ALREADY HIT ME!”

“Sorry!” He yelled, lessening the amount of arrows headed Kitsune’s way

As Kitsune continued to climb he could tell that the monster was beginning to slow down, but he was in no place to judge. Having to constantly switch hand holds while the monster kept a steady pace of shaking him off and attacking Pete was already beginning to take its toll on Kitsune. There was no pause in its erratic movements to allow Kitsune to recover, and it was only a matter of time before he would slip up and fall down.

Making matters worse was another arrow sailing through the air; this time its trajectory was perfectly lined up with Kitsune’s head. Everything began to slow around Kitsune as the arrow approached him leaving the four tailed fox with only two options. Either he accept his fate and allow the arrow to hit him or let go and be thrown off the side of the cliff. There was no favorable outcome, so rather than prolong the inevitable Kitsune accepted his fate.

To his complete surprise however, instead of sending him to death spectate his team while they failed their objective the arrow dispersed into blue mist before splattering against Kitsune’s face. All of a sudden Kitsune felt revitalized. The fatigue and stress from the climb was gone allowing him to continue his climb to the sword.

“Sorry!” Vidar yelled again

“No wait, that was a good thing!” Kitsune replied “What did you do!?”

“I HAVE NO IDEA!” He shouted back

Kitsune didn’t question it, instead he used the new burst of energy in one final push to reach for the sword hilt. The moment Kitsune had two hands on the handle he heaved with all he had. It took a few attempts but after the fourth attempt Kitsune was able to dislodge the sword from the monster’s skull. The effect was almost instantaneous. The white glow it emitted died down taking with it the physical form that gave us so much trouble. All that was left was the bones of the monster, and even then they were slowly being turned into dust to be blown away by the winds.

However, as Kitsune pulled out the sword, the momentum was enough to throw him away from the platform. Kitsune didn’t actually mind, in the long run he would respawn anyway. To him it was well worth the trade.

“I GOTCHA!” Vidar yelled as he grabbed Kitsune’s hand

Kitsune looked up to see the white wolf hanging on dearly to the cliff “You do realize I would just respawn, right?”

“It just wouldn’t feel right to celebrate without our leader.” Vidar smiled through the strain of holding Kitsune up

With a shrug Kitsune allowed the wolf archer to pull him back up the ledge where Pete and Dragon were already nonchalantly waiting for them. Kitsune was proud; sure there were scuffs and scratches here or there, but the team pulled through, and that’s all that matters. A ring called everyone’s attention to their lockets. Once they pulled out their lockets the word success was written in the center of the shifting stone with bright golden letters.

“Hey, it looks like the rain’s stopped.” Vidar held his hand out to check if it really did stop

“So?” Pete asked

“So,” Kitsune gestured for the others to follow him to the tree that miraculously survived the battle “you guys have got to see this.”

Again the others followed Kitsune to the tree as they watched the sun slowly rise from the horizon. The clouds of rain were dispersing to make room for the barrage of colors daybreak brought with it. The blues, the oranges, the greens, all of it came together to form a picture only mother nature could pain. In Kitsune’s opinion the view was the best reward for completing the quest. Kitsune couldn’t help but smile, this was only the first step, and their adventure was only beginning.

Image

END OF CHAPTER 1

PRO TIPS WITH KITSUNE! Today's topic: Death Mechanics

Any good game has some form of penalty for being taken out in the match, mission or basically whatever. With U&U Vaadirian Coonquest edition Celestials are, for the first time ever, allowed to play. In order to remedy the situation the Game Masters decided to link our Hit points to our Limiters. The Limiters take into account, level, class, Category and mana output when calculating hit points and put it all into a shield that surrounds the entirety of a player's body. Once the HP runs out the limiter then teleports the player back to their spawn point, leaving behind a tombstone with a certain phrasing that sound blatantly obvious when reading it out loud. While the shield recharges a mental projection is put wherever the tombstone landed showing how long they have till they respawn.

Of course since the Game Masters are opening the respawn to celestials Avatars are allowed to be defeated in battle but respawn without any strings attached. However should an avatar die in a natural manner there is nothing the limiter can do. Incidents include, getting sick naturally, old age, carelessness outside of the game's borders etc.

That's all for today, see ya next time!

***

Wolves were pack creatures, as much as possible they would surrounded themselves with their own kind and stick to them no matter the situation. It was in their blood as well as their instincts. So it was strange to see one lone wolf trudging through the murky marshes far from any one of his kind. He was never one to group up with them anyway. It wasn't only that they didn't want him around, He didn't want to be around them either. Runt, they'd call him, Omega, they'd say straight to his face. The only refuge he had was a garden hidden among the murky marshes. it took a lot of handwork, it was his treasure and pride, and here no one would call him names.
Last edited by Krytus The Dreamer on Sun Oct 01, 2017 8:03 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: U&U Valadirian Conquest (VER2)

Post by Krytus The Dreamer »

Chapter 02
Those Who Hail From Midgard


With their decisive battle behind them, Kitsune and his team were clear to take it easy for a while, and the scenery certainly helped set the mood. The breeze was gentle and soft just as it was the night before, the rustling leaves as a result of the wind, the lake sparkled even brighter under the morning sun, everything had settled back down to its more peaceful state. It was perfect.

The keyword being was, the mood got boring two hours into the new day. After such an intense battle, Kitsune was excited to see what they’d be assigned to next. However, the excitement slowly died down as the sun continued to cross the sky. Sure the scenery was beautiful but there had to be a limit somewhere, and Kitsune as well as his team was slowly approaching it.

“HOW LONG DO THEY EXPECT US TO WAIT HERE!? I miss experiencing time relatively.” Pete finally exploded, Kitsune was impressed, Pete managed to last as long as he did without exploding

“Ugh, we don’t know,” groaned Dragon as she leaned her weight against the tree “now shut up and stop complaining. I mean look at Vidar, he’s taking it easy, he hasn’t moved from that spot for hours.”

Kitsune looked at the wolf archer and did notice that he has been strangely silent the entire time “Now that you mention it, is he sleeping, like actually sleeping? Cause he looks exhausted, and we haven’t done a lot yet.”

“Don’t be ridiculous, Celestials don’t get exhausted.” Pete huffed, ignoring the fact that Vidar chose to keep silent even though the conversation topic was centered around him

Kitsune pondered for a bit ‘It’s true that Celestials don’t need sleep, nor do we need food, water or really anything that a mortal would need on a daily basis. Though that doesn’t mean that we can’t enjoy these things. Not a lot has happened to tire out Vidar so much that he’d need sleep, Maybe these limiters restrict more than just our mana flows or that they have different restrictions per category.’

Kitsune wasn’t sure if it was because he was bored or because he was curious, but he felt himself compelled to wake Vidar just to ask. The wolf did look peaceful as he leaned against the tree, Kitsune almost felt bad for waking him if he in deed was really sleeping.

However, before Kitsune could reach out to the slumbering wolf, a bright flash of light emanated from the ground not too far from them. Everyone, except Vidar, reacted calmly to the light, though it looked like Kitsune was the only one to notice. The beam only lasted for a few seconds before fading away like nothing had happened and in the center of the beam’s focus stood a tall, yet thin framed man. His skin was cloudy white, with long black hair to complement his dark green robes.The man carried himself in a civilized manner, his shoulders in place, eyes steady and sharp as Pete’s talong, and his arms folded behind his back.

Even though he carried himself formally, Kitsune wasn’t sure what he should feel about him. He looked, dangerous, yet polite, scheming yet straightforward. Any read Kitsune had on him instantly switched over to its opposite making it hard to judge who he could really be.

“So this is my Pantheon. I guess I must be one of the luckiest Commanders to have a balanced team right off the bat.” He smirked as he cast his gaze over the entire team, but noticeably looked surprised when he came upon Vidar “Vidar? Is that you?”

Vidar waved awkwardly as he shrank down from the man’s gaze “H-Hello, brother.”

“Why do you look like that?” He asked as he prodded at Vidar’s head fur

“I just like this form alright?” Vidar blushed and mumbled to himself as he swatted away his brother’s hand “I thought it would look cool.”

The man took a moment to give Vidar a deadpan stare before shrugging it off “Looks aside, I am your commander, Loki Odinson. As of this moment you four are under my charge, so please let’s all get along in a civilized manner.” He shot a look specifically at Dragon and Pete who straightened up under his gaze

“I was watching over your battle,” He continued after staring at the two for a couple of seconds “and it would seem you four are capable of some semblance of cooperation. That can be worked on in the coming week; After all, any situation can be turned into a favorable one if you happen to know the tricks of the trade.”

“Uh commander?” Kitsune raised his hand once he was sure Loki was finished “What’s our first move then? Also shouldn’t we be assigned our classes by now?”

Loki snapped his fingers and summoned a scroll that appeared in front of everyone and a book for Vidar and Dragon “For your classes, the scroll’s a detailed list of every available class for each category. It lists the strengths and weaknesses of each one so I suggest you study it closely. As for our first move, we must fortify our ranks. Each Pantheon is allowed to recruit a maximum of two avatars to their team, that book contains the ritual to bestow their class as well as their contract. However, unlike you Players, Avatars cannot choose their class and must be assigned according to their conviction as well as their personality.”

“Wait,” Dragon asked once Loki finished explaining “We’re going to be the ones to choose the avatars? Isn’t that your job commander?”

“I’m afraid not. As your commander, my job is to manage our efforts, upgrade facilities, dispatch you on your missions etcetera. I cannot interact with mortals directly. That falls to the four of you.” He said with the shake of a head “For this mission, I want Pete and Dragon to pair up and search the southeastern desert for an avatar. There’s a community of skilled mages and summoners in that area so begin your search around that area. You might as well start building up that cooperation while you’re at it. As for you, brother,” Loki turned to Vidar, causing him to shrink further under his gaze “You and Kitsune are to search within the area within a village near a marsh. I’ve heard intel about it being filled with strong warriors and mercenaries.”

Pete looked like he was about to argue with Loki, but Dragon did her best to hold him back “Also, before I leave, use this to get around. I’ve scattered these all over strategic points on Midgard to make quick work of your travel time. As you get further and further away from the temple these will continue to decrease in number but so long as you are close to one travel should be made quicker.” With another snap of his fingers Loki caused a small stone pillar with a distinguished crystal decorating the top to appear right next to the tree “It’s called a bestower, and it will be your only means of getting around quickly. Simply touch it and you will be on your way, and when you finish your mission return here to await further mission assignments.”

With that Loki about faced and walked down the path he came from. Once he disappeared from view the sound of a door closing could be heard and like that Loki had left the team to themselves. Rather than instantly depart for their missions right away everyone took the chance to look over their scrolls and choose a class they could work with. Kitsune was doing the same but he was more interested about how the others would choose their class. Pete did so with a frown nestled firmly on his beak while Dragon calmly and thoroughly looked over hers. Vidar seemed to look at his scroll briefly before defeatedly giving a sigh and using his claw to cross out a class. In a matter of seconds the scroll lit up with blue light and eventually burned away the scroll and enveloped Vidar.

The light acted like a fog as well as light as it swirled around Vidar blocking him from view. Behind the cloud like light, Kitsune saw Vidar’s clothes and gear morphing and shifting forms as the light began to die down. Soon, the light began to focus and pour into one spot which was a curved blue mark underneath Vidar’s left eye. Vidar’s white shirt was replaced with a green vest, while his rawhide pants was replaced with cloth ones but somewhat torn when they reached near his feet. How bow and arrow remained the same, only this time, his quiver had an emblem on it.

“That was quick,” Kitsune enthusiastically grabbed Vidar’s wrist as soon as the transformation was over “Now C’mon, you heard the bossman, we’ve got an avatar to find.”

Vidar caught off guard with Kitsune’s spur of the moment decision to drag him to the Bestower, found it hard to put the words together “Wait, what? But you didn’t even choose your class yet.”

“Eh, I don’t like to rush these sorts of things, so I’ll just decide a little bit later.” Kitsune tucked his scroll away into one of his pockets before fully dragging Vidar to the Bestower

Once Kitsune was close enough, he did as Loki instructed and placed a hand on the Bestower’s crystal. The buildup was slow, and at first, it looked like nothing was happening. A few seconds later and Kitsune was proven wrong as the winds beneath both Celestials violently kicked up in an instant. The winds were strong enough to send Kitsune and Vidar higher into the sky than they already were.

Hearing the rush of howling winds blow through his ears as it combed over his entire body dozens of times in the span of a single moment, Kitsune couldn’t help but laugh as he continued to climb higher into the sky. By complete contrast Vidar was flailing his arms screaming in sheer horror while he refused to open his eyes to the world the two could see unobscured beneath them.

Since they were moving at such a high speed Kitsune almost failed to notice it forming in front of his very eyes. From Vidar’s back sprouted a pair of transparent wings, each feather as white as the fur on his body. Kitsune looked to his back to see a similar pair of wings slowly unfolding, ready to take on the wide open skies fearlessly.

“I’M GOING TO DIE!” He yelled once we reached the peak of how high the Bestower could bring the two of them to

With a roll of his eyes, Kitsune tapped the wolf’s vest causing him to open his eyes albeit at a snail’s pace “Uh Hello? Open your eyes, we’re going to be just fine”

Once Vidar fully opened his eyes, he saw the world for what it truly was. The wide open forest of trees that blended in with each other, the shrunken mountains they had conquered in less than a second, the ocean of clouds that surrounded the two of them. Suddenly, all the horror in Vidar’s eyes was replaced by a shining look of awe as a smile grew on his face.

“Now quit daydreaming.” Kitsune playfully tapped his nose “I have a feeling that these wings won’t be able to bring us to a higher altitude once we go lower.’

After Vidar gave a silent nod of confirmation, Kitsune shifted himself into a diving position. Once again Kitsune heard the song of the wind playing loudly in his ears causing him to laugh all the way down, only this time Vidar joined his howls of laughter and screams of excitement.

Kitsune found these wings odd. It was true that astral jumping was far more efficient, but to Kitsune found these wigs liberating, far more exciting that just instantly appearing wherever they needed to go, Kitsune didn’t even have to strain himself to control them, all he really needed to do was think and the wings would respond, sometimes instinct would kick in and he didn’t even have to think. It was literally effortless.

The rush of adrenaline, the smear of the colorful landscape as he flew by. Kitsune was enthralled by the feeling. It was something he could only experience in person and it made him glad he didn’t decide to stick to watching the game unfold from afar. Kitsune knew deep down, this feeling was never going to get old.

“KITSUNE!?” Vidar yelled through the howling of the winds “THIS IS FUN AND ALL, BUT DO YOU KNOW WHERE WE’RE HEADED!?”

“COMMANDER SAID WE’D HAVE TO LOOK FOR A VILLAGE NEAR A MARSH AND THAT’S WHERE WE’D FIND OUR AVATAR! AND I THINK I HAVE AN IDEA OF WHICH MARSH HE’S TALKING ABOUT!” Kitsune replied as he honed his eyes in on the landscape below them

While the region was mostly mountainous, there were a few marshes spread about the area. However out of all the marshes there was only one that was relatively close to where their first battle had occurred. Not only was it the biggest marsh in the region, it was also one with a village right within its boundaries. Kitsune knew very well that where there were people there would be Avatar candidates, and one of them had to be their guy.

“THERE!” Kitsune pointed out to Vidar once he saw the trees slowly decrease in density till there was nothing but murky and foggy waters.

Responding perfectly to his will, Kitsune’s wings took him down gently despite the speed he was coming in. Once he was close enough to dry land Kitsune felt the wings relieve themselves off his back and land him perfectly in on island safe from the murky waters. Vidar wasn’t as precise as Kitsune was when it came to landings and instead dropped himself into the water so fast Kitsune swore he saw him skip on the water twice before finally coming to a stop. When he resurfaced he didn’t look too hurt. Really the only thing that looked ruined was his white fur.

“Rough landing huh buddy?” Kitsune laughed as he offered Vidar a helping hand “Maybe choosing pure white fur wasn’t the brightest idea out there.”

Despite being covered in mud Vidar was still able to crack a smile as he accepted Kitsune’s hand “You’re a funny Fox, you know that.”

“Hey, you said it not me.” Kitsune cracked his own smile as he helped Vidar on his feet

While Vidar took a moment to dry off, Kitsune had a look through their immediate surroundings. The sun might still be up and the skies weren’t too clouded when the flew down, but with the fog surrounding them it was almost hard to tell. This made it hard to see anything in the distance, you’d only see silhouettes at best and hallucinations at worst. Suddenly Kitsune missed being in the sky surrounded with all the colors and winds.

“So, where do we start?” Vidar asked, finally being somewhat dry

Kitsune continued to strain his eyes for something, but nothing noteworthy came up “We’re looking for Avatars right?” Vidar responded with a nod “Then we’re looking for people.”

“Even so,” Vidar asked as he followed Kitsune along dry land “how will we know which one is worthy to be our Avatar?”

“Haven’t you played the standard U&U? This is like the basics of the basics.”

“About that… I was never really good at recruiting avatars.”

“Of course. Well, there’s a lot of things you have to consider. However one of the most basic things to look at is obviously their personality since it’s what determines what kind of class they’ll be assigned. Then there’s their race, since each species has its own advantages and disadvantages. However, the one I think is the most important to look at is their drive.”

“Drive?”

“Your know their will to win, determination, things like that. You can have a well bred avatar with a top tier class, but drive to win, can and has trumped those traits combined before, I’ve seen it happen. Of course, if you managed to find a candidate with all three that’s great, but if you had to choose, go with the one with stronger drive. They’ll always push themselves to improve, adapt and are a valuable asset to any team.”

After Kitsune finished explaining, Vidar slowly went silent. Kitsune suspected it was because the wolf was processing what he had just learned. It didn’t bother Kitsune all too much, it allowed him to look around a little more. However, no matter how hard Kitsune tried , the veil of fog was almost impossible to see through All around the two Celestials nothing but thick bland and lifeless fog, a complete contrast of the skies they flew through not too long ago.

Halting what little progress Kitsune and Vidar had made was the sound of both of their limiters going off at the same time. Begrudgingly Kitsune pulled the locket from underneath his shirt and examined the shifting stone. All Kitsune knew about the limiter, was obviously that it limited Celestial abilities to balance the game. Kitsune just dismissed it as another function he failed to read up on. A fact that was further reinforced by the fact that the two lockets projected letters till it eventually spelled out its complete message.

Restricted area: quest on going.
Requirement to join quest: One Avatar in your party.
Spectating: Allowed.
Should you interfere directly, you will immediately be teleported back to your home temple and locked within the premises for a full day.

“Yikes, they really mean business huh.” Kitsune said once he finished reading the message printed into air in front of them “C’mon let’s go check it out.”

Vidar gave Kitsune another concerned look “Wait~

“It says we’re allowed to spectate. So why not?” Kitsune cut him off as he lead him deeper into the marsh

As Kitsune continued to move Vidar through the marsh there was nothing that looked like it was what set off the quest. Everything was dead silent, no insect calls, no sounds of water movement, no winds. Deep down, Kitsune knew that this was a calm before the storm. Something big and something terrible was about to happen.

“Kitsune,” Vidar whispered “I don’t like the looks of this.”

“THERE’S THE DEMON! ATTACK!” Came the grizzled call of war directly behind them

Suddenly multiple other war cries were sounded in response to the first one. In response to the multiple war cries a terrifying screech sounded off as a sudden flame ignited. It didn’t take long before Kitsune and Vidar were surrounded by warriors of various races. Wolves, panthers, bears, humans, all these races both male and female armed to the teeth making the push forward. All the warriors raced past Kitsune and Vidar as if they weren’t there to begin with.

Like the man said, directly in front of the two Celestials was a demon. At its core, it looked like it was made from coal, and it was what sparked to life. A living hellflame taking on physical form. Despite standing on a marsh and being assaulted by arrows and warriors, the flames didn’t falter in the slightest.

After brushing aside a set of incoming attacks like they were nothing, it countered by spewing flames from its mouth. Though the warriors charging into battle didn’t care in the slightest and continued to charge in anyway.

“Kitsune, check this out.” Vidar said as he held out his hand to an incoming warrior

Rather than colliding with the man running towards the living hell flame, Vidar’s hand phased through, as if it wasn’t there to begin with. Curiocity begged Kitsune to take a look at his locket, and when he did, he found that it was flashing the words “Spectator Mode.” on it’s shifting stone.

‘They really thought of everything didn’t they.’

“It’s too much!” Yelled one of the warriors catching Kitsune’s and Vidar’s attention “Fall back towards the eastern section where the marsh is deeper!”

As quickly as they came, all warriors fell back, however the flame demon gave chase wasn’t too far off. It continued to spew fire as it tailed them, arcing the ball of flames so that it would hit them even from a distance. This may have disoriented some warriors, but it wasn’t enough to break their formation as they continued to run.

“NO, PLEASE! NOT THAT DIRECTION! ANYWHERE BUT THAT DIRECTION!” Came the cries of a much younger sounding voice

Everyone else seemed to be ignoring the young voice, even if it desperately cried for them. Following the sound, Kitsune was able to trace its owner to a young black wolf. He was much smaller than all the other wolves present, and wasn’t even armed with anything. Despite having no armor, not even a weapon, the black wolf gave chase to the group of warriors and the demon.

“Kitsune, we should go, I don’t think i want to see the end of this quest.” Vidar said already inching away from the direction the battle was headed

Kitsune suddenly latched onto him before he could go any further “No, i want to see this. I want to see that black wolf.”

Vidar shrugged once he saw how determined Kitsune was. Kitsune’s eyes were steeled with determination as furrowed with seriousness. The four tailed fox didn’t know what exactly made the black wolf stand out as the perfect candidate out of the other warriors he ran towards. Maybe Kitsune saw the hopeless look in his crimson red eyes, or maybe Kitsune wanted to see the wolf make it out of the scuffle alive. Maybe Kitsune saw how desperate the wolf was, so desperate in fact that he would charge into battle without so much as a dagger to protect himself. Whatever the case may be Kitsune had a good feeling about that wolf, and he always sticks to his hunches.

Once they finally caught up to the group, Kitsune and Vidar found all the warriors occupying what looked to be the largest island in the marsh. However, that wasn’t what stood out about the island; it was the fact that it was covered in a magnificent array of flowers. All kinds of colors that were absent in the depressing marsh were gathered here, like a treasure hidden away for safekeeping

The once magnificent garden of color in a bleak marsh was slowly being tarnished by the battle that raged on top of it. Fires raged as it consumed petal after petal, warriors desperate to survive trampled over the stems of all the plants without a single thought of remorse. All of this was plain to see to the black wolf that stood out from the crowd of warriors. Kitsune watched as the black wolf looked on in horror as the garden wasted away.

Even with the advantage of water surrounding the entire area, the flame demon looked to be too powerful. Try as they might, the warriors had no ground to stand for the duration of the battle, and it was completely one sided. Should they press the battle it would be nothing short of a massacre

“RETREAT!” came the call of one of the men calling all the warriors further back into the marsh

Even with the men retreating the black wolf remained stationary to see the devastation brought onto the garden in front of him. Nonetheless, seeing the demon take one foot in the garden was the deciding factor, and soon the wolf ran recklessly into the fray. Once he was in front of the fire demon the small wolf spread his arms wide and drew the attention of the flame beast.

Merciless, as a demon should be it swatted the wolf aside with its still flaming hand. Of course the wolf was badly injured in the process and a good majority of his fur was already singed off but the small wolf trudged back into position in front of the flaming demon and raised his arms wide, despite how hard it must’ve been to raise them.

“I WON’T LET YOU DESTROY THIS PLACE! NOT WHEN IT MEANS SO MUCH TO HER!”

Kitsune suddenly had his breath taken from him. Kitsune marveled at the sight; the wolf probably hasn’t even reached a day past his juvenile age, yet there he stood fearlessly in front of a living hellflame. The way the wolf’s crimson red eyes shone with a ferocity that didn’t match his body, the way he fearlessly stood his ground despite the losing odds, Kitsune knew he was their Avatar.

“Vidar!” Kitsune yelled catching the wolf by surprise “It’s him, that’s our avatar! Open the book!”

Vidar fumbled with the book at first and looked like he was about to protest “But~”

“JUST DO IT!” Kitsune yelled once he saw the demon wind up for the finishing blow

As Vidar began to pool his concentration, the winds surrounding the marsh began to pick up and steadily grow strong as more seconds pass. It eventually reached the point where even the demon’s flames began to flicker under such a wind. Soon the book levitated out of Vidar’s hand as the same emblem on his quiver manifested on the back of his left palm.

Suddenly the book flipped open, as time slowed to a halt with the demon’s flames just inches away from hitting the wolf square in the face. Overwhelmed by the book’s energy, Vidar’s eyes radiated blue energy as he levitated closer to the confused and injured wolf. At first he was scared out of his wits by Vidar who seemingly came out of nowhere but the wolf was too tired and injured to do anything significant so he lowered his head and accepted his fate.

“Raise your head young wolf.” Vidar commanded, almost sounding possessed “I am not here to hurt you, but rather to extend my assistance. I hear the rage festering in your heart, powering your body, and lighting your soul ablaze. Please do explain to me why a good share of it is directed at yourself.”

The wolf looked confused by the statement but answered it truthfully nonetheless “I am nothing more than the runt of the litter, the weakest link, the omega. I was never worth anything to anyone, and when they call me useless, I can’t help but believe them. I am everything they say, but I want to prove the wrong! I want to be able to protect what is dear to me, and stand tall like all the warriors of my village do yet I can’t.”

“There is a wish that you seek, isn’t there young wolf.” the wolf nodded “Then if you seek to attain such a boon, then you must earn it. Fight under the name Loki Odinson and it shall be done.” The book flipped open tearing a page away from it and causing it to float over to the black wolf

The small black wolf gripped the paper tightly, before biting down on his right hand. After stamping his hand print onto the paper in red, the wolf then raised it high as it was slowly being consumed by flames.

Vidar then raised his hands high as his voiced boomed throughout the marsh “FROM THE HANDBOOK OF PLAYERS, CHAPTER 4 VERSE 18, THOSE WHO FESTER A GREAT FURY DEEP WITHIN THEIR HEARTS MAY THEMSELVES TAKE ON THE POWER OF THE DEMON RAGER!”

“I WILL FIGHT UNDER THE NAME LOKI! I AM GARM FEAR MY RAGE!” Garm yelled in response to Vidar’s call

As soon as the contract was completely engulfed in flames chains shot out from Vidar’s book and proceeded to ensnare Garm. Underneath the chains that trapped Garm, his wounds and burns healed slightly as the chains began to shrink down to match his size. Eventually the chains that ensnared Garm took on the appearance of a chainmail shirt that protected his torso as a red light began to emanate from the black wolf. Just like Vidar the red light soon pooled into one specific location which happened to be the spot between his eyes.

With the contract completed and signed Vidar vanished into thin air before reappearing next to Kitsune looking drained from the process. Soon time resumed its pace and the flames impacted the wolf directly. Slowly coming too from his trance Vidar saw the onslaught of fiery devastation and shot up to attention.

“We’ve got to help him!” he yelled as he studied his locket, and sure enough it no longer said spectator mode

Despite this Kitsune held him back “Let the wolf howl.”

The flames parted and Garm was no longer in the front of the blast. Instead Garm leapt from the marsh island and was now considerably higher than the flaming demon. As a follow up a red chain appeared in Garms hands before he cast it down to ensnare the flaming demon. Landing safely back down on his marsh island, Garm planted his feet deeper into the ground as the chain wrapped around the demon’s neck morphed into a manacle that locked tightly.

Seeing Garm gain the upper hand surprisingly fast, the demon tried to shake off the chains that bound it, but no such luck. In fact the flames that used to burn and flare out like wild fire was beginning to die down exposing its core. Soon the demon couldn’t support its heavy frame and it was brought down to its knees. Pressing his advantage even further Garm sent two more chains to wrap on both the demon’s wrists.

Once this was complete a channeling circle appeared under Garm’s feet as his eyes lit up with brilliant red fury “Submit to my will, and make your strength mine to command!”

On his orders, the flames gave one final powerful burst that flowed through the chains and into Garm. Eventually there was no flame left to absorb and the demon was left as a husk of its former self. In a matter of seconds the beast was turned from a destructive giant to nothing more than a glorified statue. A gust of wind blew past and like that the demon was no more. Having spent most of the energy given to him by the contract Garm could do nothing more than collapse on the spot.

END OF CHAPTER 2

It's PRO TIPS WITH KITSUNE TODAY'S TOPIC: Class categories
Image

Image

As you may already know all classes are grouped up together based on their capabilities in battle. These are then further subdivided into two to be a little more specific

Offense classes are classes that are focused around dealing damage and are sub divided into Glass Cannon and Damage Over Time.
Defense classes are focused around preventing damage, these are your standard tanks who take the damage for you or decoys who take on enemy aggro, but dodge the attacks rather than take it on full blast
Support classes focus on helping your teammates whether its giving buffs and special abilities like the Enablers or taking your opponent down a peg with de-buffs and other status conditions like the Disablers
Lastly the healers which focus on keeping teammates alive during combat these are regular slight healers who heal at a constant and steady rate or Burst Healers who take time to perform one healing spell but heal for much more than slight healers

When I said there was four classes I forgot to mention the illusive fifth class: Null. What makes this class special is the ability to shift into other classes. In one battle they may be an offense Damage over Time class, but when you encounter them again they could be their team's Burst Healer or really anything else for that matter.

That's all for today so see ya!

***

After bringing Garm to the temple to heal his wounds Kitsune and Vidar were given time to rest from their previous mission and prepare for the next one, which could come at any moment. Vidar went to rest in his room, which left Kitsune all on his own, with an unwanted thought imprisoned in his mind.

As much as Kitsune enjoyed his fully customizable room and any kind of food he wanted, the prospect of choosing the right class burdened him to no end. Vidar had chosen with relative ease, so why was it so hard for him? Just thinking about the scroll made his head spin radically. Even now was he paced through the echoing halls of Loki's temple the scroll continued to persist in his mind.

"Tyr, look at him!" Kitsune's ears perked at the sound of Loki's voice from a nearby room "On top of being a mortal he's a runt, an Omega, why give him a limiter meant for Celestials?"

Kitsune found enough space to peer in through the door and to no surprise found the infirmary "Because dear nephew this wolf, even for one hailing from Midgard has the highest potential out of any avatar I've ever seen. He may look weak now, but this wolf is going to be capable of so much more in the future. I'd like to return here every morning, I wish to see him grow and exploit his astoundingly high potential."

"Very well." Loki sighed "However, i would like some compensations for you nerfing one of my best pieces before its even hit the board."

"It shall be done." Tyr said professionally as he gently ruffled the fur on Garm's head playfully

As Kitsune continued to eavesdrop on the two celestials Vidar's cries caught the four tailed fox of guard "ODIN'S BEARD! WHY ARE THERE SNAKES IN MY ROOM!"

"SUBMIT ENEMY CELESTIAL!" came a new voice Kitsune Had never heard before

"YOU SHOULD'VE SEEN YOUR FACE!" laughed Pete hysterically "Sorry though Apep, that's an ally, we aren't supposed to even meet enemy celestials yet."

"it would appear that your second avatar has arrived." Tyr sighed even though it was blatantly obvious at this point
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Krytus The Dreamer
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Re: U&U Valadirian Conquest (VER2)

Post by Krytus The Dreamer »

With this Chapters 4 and onward will now completely divert from the original storyline. Hopefully i can get the story to how and where i want it to be and again thanks for taking the time to read what I write.

Chapter 03
Briefing

Kitsune expected their temple to be huge, but somehow the temple seemed to have exceeded his expectations. An arcane library to study up on spells, a forge to improve, craft or repair weapons and armor, a banquet hall that had any dish ready, the temple had everything and anything they needed. However Kitsune was mostly excited about the fact that the temple was built inside the mountain that housed his favorite view.

Luck seemed to favor him with the coincidences that happened the past day and Kitsune wasn’t going to complain about it. After their most recent mission of recruiting Garm, they were allowed time to rest while Loki planned out their next move. Kitsune didn’t know how to better start off the day with a glimpse of nature’s masterpiece.

Thanks to the temple’s newly built in walkways the trek to the top of the mountain wasn’t as demanding as it once was and the result was the travel time being cut to half of what it once was. Kitsune had already reached the peak to witness the sun’s rise except he wasn’t alone. Fully equipped in his new beginner’s armor was Vidar who seemed to be soaking up the sun, his white fur looking somewhat orange in the glow.

“You look like you had a great sleep.” Kitsune laughed as he approached the white wolf

“Oh, Kitsune,” Vidar turned around to greet him “good morning.”

Kitsune laughed as he took a seat next to the wolf, the fox stretched both his arms as far as they could go “It’s been a long time since I’ve felt like this.” the joints he was stretching gave a satisfying pop “I guess I should thank the limiters for dampening our Celestial abilities, now I get tired more easily, and I actually need sleep.”

“You make it sound like it’s a good thing.” The wolf laughed as well before giving off a yawn

“You kidding, it's awesome. If you’re barely tired or fatigued, you’d never experience how refreshing it feels to wake up from a good night’s rest, how soothing a massage is, or how much better a bath makes you feel.”

“Right… and you know all of this how?”

“I’ve experienced a lot of things, Vidar. Gotta do something in the span of an eternity am I right?”

“I guess.”

A moment of silence began to settle in between the two Celestials. Kitsune didn’t seem to mind for the moment, he used the silence to think. Out of everyone on his team, Kitsune was still unclassed, leaving him in the default offense class with no unique abilities, perks or weapons. Vidar had chosen with relative ease, Pete and Dragon already had theirs picked out and assigned, the two avatars came in already registered with a category and class, all that was left was him.

Kitsune took another long look at the classification scroll. There were more than a thousand class names listed within the paper and Kitsune had looked through them all. However none of the classes he looked through had the intrigue to catch Kitsune’s attention and hold it long enough for him to be sold on the class.

“You still stumped on that?” Vidar asked once he noticed Kitsune still pouring through the scroll for the nth time

“You have no idea.” Kitsune leaned back and let his back fall into the grass behind him “It's your standard blessing and curse scenario. You have all these options, but never know which one’s going to be the right one for you.”

The wolf gave Kitsune a laugh before snatching the parchment away from him “Alright then; what are you looking for?”

“It’s gotta be something… challenging but not too frustrating… something to get the mind working… something… that requires skill.” Kitsune said with a hand firmly placed on his chin

As Vidar looked for the class that fit Kitsune’s description the fox rubbed his eyes in frustration. There wasn’t a way to change his class any time in the foreseeable future. It certainly was possible through various methods but those were rare occurrences. Kitsune had to treat the choice as if he wasn’t going to be able to change his class.

Vidar suddenly tapped Kitsune shoulder to get his attention “Category: Offense, Subclass: Pure Glass Cannon, Class: Cosmic Wanderer. This class is given five daggers specialized for either throwing or close ranged combat. At any given time the cosmic wanderer may recall the daggers to their possession but, with a four second cool down, may also translocate to the position of any one of their daggers.”

Kitsune took a closer look at the scroll. The class had lower than average health when compared to other offense classes, but had decent DPS and the capacity to burst down opponents. Its lowered health pool didn’t matter considering the mobility the class had every four seconds. With the right positioning and strategy a player could cause serious damage to the opposing team and still be able to escape relatively unharmed.

“I take it by the look in your eyes that you’re interested?” Vidar said eagerly

“Well, more so than all the other classes I’ve seen so far.” Kitsune responded as eagerly “I’ll take it.”

Before any doubt could creep into his mind Kitsune, he used the claw on his index finger to cross out the name Cosmic Wanderer off the list. Like what had happened for Vidar, Kitsune’s scroll dispersed into a cloud of red light and flowed all around him. While basking in the light’s strange state, Kitsune’s clothes and sword began to reshape themselves into one befitting his newfound class. Once the light had done its work it all concentrated into a red marking found underneath Kitsune’s right eye.

As soon as Kitsune’s eyes adjusted back to the normal light he got a closer look at his new getup. What once was a pair of rawhide pants and a plain white t-shirt was now a lightweight, silk woven, gi in the color of navy blue. The material was both light and sturdy all without restricting his movement in any way shape or form, Kitsune actually felt lighter in the new gi. His sword had been split into five smaller daggers that, like Vidar’s description, had a grip that could be used for both throwing and close quarters combat.

“You’re a lifesaver.” Kitsune said while in the middle of inspecting one of the daggers “I thought I’d never be able to choose.”

While Vidar sheepishly scratched the back on his neck Kitsune reached into his limiter for something “Oh I dunno, I just happen to know what that class was. There’s really nothing to it.” Kitsune pulled out a vial filled with a clear liquid and held it out to Vidar “Uh… what’s this?”

“It’s something called the scout eye; according to what I’ve read up on it supposedly gives its user the ability to see long distances as well as in the dark.” Kitsune replied as he placed the vial in Vidar’s hands “I got it as a reward from the quest we completed with Garm and I want you to have it as thanks for helping me with my class.”

“But I couldn’t…” Vidar tried to give it back but Kitsune refused

Kitsune smiled as Vidar took a second look at the vial“C’mon take it. Besides it would do better in your eyes since you’re the archer in our group.” Since Kitsune had insisted Vidar had no choice but to accept the vial.

Uncorking the vial, Vidar applied the contents to his left eye. As soon as the eye was soaked with the solution Vidar blinked a few times to adjust while the marking under his left eye began to shift. Before, the mark was a simple curved shape but as it shifted the curve became more prominent and eventually took the shape of a single wing. The result was Vidar rubbing his eyes, as if the vial’s contents irritated his eye a little.

“So…. Does it work?” Kitsune asked as Vidar took a look at his surroundings

“It works alright,” a smile grew on Vidar’s muzzle “and it's amazing.”

Kitsune laughed as the white wolf began to dart around the mountain top looking at every angle he possibly could. He didn’t blame the white wolf, the view was spectacular on its own but with an enhanced sense of sight it should be even more astounding. It almost made Kitsune wish he kept the scout eye for himself, but the smile on Vidar’s muzzle was enough to calm his thoughts.

“I can’t wait till tonight I want to test out the night… vision…” Vidar’s excitement and joy died almost instantly

There was no possible way Kitsune could’ve missed the drastic tone shift in Vidar’s voice “V-Vidar… are you alright?” when the wolf failed to respond Kitsune tried again, this time with a hand on his shoulder “Vidar?”

Instead of answering Kitsune, Vidar shrugged him off and headed straight for the bestower. Once his hand was placed on the bestower’s stone Vidar jumped off the side without waiting for the gust to carry him higher. As soon as Vidar was in freefall, his transparant wings spread wide to catch him into a glide towards the bottom. Concerned as to why Vidar had such a drastic shift in tone, Kitsune did the same and followed the white wolf all the way down to the foot of the mountain.

The moment Vidar set foot on the forest floor he broke out into a run through the woods. After following the white wolf on his sudden chase Kitsune finally caught up to the wolf as he hunkered down next to a tree, trying as much as possible to keep his presence hidden from anyone close by.

“Let me go!” Kitsune recognized the voice to be Garm’s “What about my village, my home, my si~”

“Not to worry young pup, they are safe. Sadly I cannot say the same for that beautiful garden of yours.” the comforting voice Garm was speaking to was Tyr

However, when Kitsune poked his head through the tree he was hiding behind he didn’t see the tall white dragon that greeted him at the beginning of the game. Kitsune instead saw a human man armored similarly to the white Dragon kneeling down to eye level with Garm. The way he spoke, the way his hair reflected the same tone as Tyr’s scales, there was no way Kitsune could mistake him for anyone else.

Garm looked to be completely healed from his encounter with the fire demon. He was still equipped with his chain mail shirt, but his face was a complete farcry of what Kitsune saw not too long ago. He was scared, concerned almost like he was a stray pup someone picked up from the streets.

“I… I know,” Garm sighed sadly “a garden can be grown back, but a life is irreplaceable.”

Tyr ruffled the black wolf’s head fur playfully causing him to laugh slightly “Those are wise words. If you hadn’t stepped up, many more lives could’ve been lost. For an avatar that only been granted his powers for such a short time, you’ve already done a great good.”

“I only wanted to prove i was worth something.” Garm began to smile at the compliment

“And you have, Garm, I see the potential within you.” Tyr said as he continued to smile at Garm “It is great and unmatched. You have the potential to do great things, and I have faith that you will carry them out.”

‘Players and Avatars. Please report to the War Room for mission briefing.’ came the abrupt telepathic announcement that made Kitsune’s fur stand on end for catching him by surprise

Tyr stood up and gave Garm one more playful head rub with his right hand before assuming his dragon form “It looks like you are needed. Do your best out there.” he began flapping his wings and taking off

“I will. I won’t waste the opportunity I’ve been given.” Garm said as a smile grew on his face before rushing back into the temple

When i looked back for Vidar I found him missing from his previous spot, gone without a trace. Knowing him he would’ve gone back inside and headed straight for the War Room. Though why he would find Tyr and Garm talking to each other was still a mystery I decided to put it off for now. I was being called and for sure Vidar would be there as well.

As soon as the two were gone Kitsune found Vidar missing from his previous spot, gone without a word uttered at all. Knowing him, Kitsune speculated that the white wolf would’ve gone back inside and headed straight towards the War Room. Though Kitsune still couldn’t understand why Vidar would lock into both Tyr and Garm talking to each other. With no real, visible connection Kitsune put it off for the time being. He was being called and for sure he knew Vidar would be there as well.

***

Even though the temple had various tunnels and walkways leading to different facilities, Kitsune made quick work traversing through it all with the use of his limiter acting like a map. The War Room was one of the many facilities the temple had and was mainly used to brief the team before their missions or plan out their attack strategies.

The inside of the War Room was simple enough. It was a tall room supported by seven equally tall pillars with a chair at the base of each of them. At the very center of the room and pillars was a wide table with images depicting various places of the realm the team was on. The the chair furthest from the entrance was the most decorated and had Loki waiting patiently for everyone’s arrival. Next to him was his brother, Vidar, who was still in the same bad mood. Without so much as a word Kitsune took his seat next to Vidar and waited quietly for everyone else to arrive.

A few moments later, Pete and Dragon arrived together, their appearance clearly showing that they’ve already chosen their classes. Dragon wore a long flowing white coat decorated in red accents while a brown combat skirt replaced her rawhide pants. Her staff underwent very little changes, really the only thing that changed was the tip which was now a floating stone. Pete on the other had had black sturdy looking armor but at the same time it didn’t look as thick as a standard tank armor would’ve looked like. It looked tough enough to take a blow, but light enough to allow him good enough movement to complement the dark blue scythe he had slung on his back.

“We’re here! So what’s on the agenda today?” Pete said nonchalantly as he took his seat and placed his feet on the chair’s armrest

Loki looked slightly annoyed by Pete’s lack of respect “I will explain when everyone is here. I’m not a fan of repeating myself.”

“The avatars?” Pete laughed arrogantly “Now that you mention it, why do we need them? Isn’t it kinda a no brainer of who’s going to win when you pit an avatar against a Celestial? What’s the point?”

“If you really must know, they were considering skipping avatars altogether for this game.” Loki huffed now it was clear that Pete’s arrogance was annoying him “Except in the testing phase for this game some Celestials got tired of being constantly bossed around and just went off on their own. Even if they were forced to stay they performed in a lackluster manner and as a result tilted the whole team. Avatars always perform at their best because of the boons we dangle in front of their face. At least this way each commander has, at the very least, two highly motivated and dedicated pieces on the board.”

Before could annoy Loki further Dragon quickly added in “Besides, we were given these Limiters for a reason. It’s obviously to bring us down to the avatar’s level and make the game a little bit more fair.”

Even with Dragon’s intervention Loki seemed at odds with the way Pete carried himself. Kitsune assumed it was probably because Pete was forced to team up with Dragon when he could’ve easily been teamed up any of the remaining two members. Luckily for the team, the growing tension in the air was cut short by the arrival of the two new avatars.

Garm had completely recovered from his moment of weakness with Tyr and was now wearing a bright grin on his face. Kitsune couldn’t help but reflect the smile on the black wolf’s face. The fox just found Garm’s smile infectious, and the thought was reinforced by the fact that the pup was most likely the youngest to take a seat at the table.

His companion on the other hand was his stark opposite. Apep was a brown lynx entirely robbed in a fine silk dyed in red and accented with gold. The look on his face said it all; he hated being lumped in with the chipper wolf next to him and couldn’t wait for the earliest opportunity to get away from him.

“Apologies, my master.” Apep lowered himself to a bow “we would have been here sooner if it wasn’t for this… pup” Garm flinched at the word ‘pup’ “getting us lost.”

“It was an easy mistake to make.” Garm grumbled to himself

“Enough, both of you. Let us just begin.” Loki raised his hand to calm the two before pointing them to their seats in the round table

Once everyone was properly seated Loki gave the table a tap to show the team an image of a shady looking forest “The Players should already understand that right now we are in the preparation stage. We have two weeks to fortify our defenses, gather resources and sharpen your skills, and hopefully the mission I’m about to send you on should satisfy the latter two of those conditions.”

Loki gave the table one more tap to draw up two more images. The first one was of an entrance into an abandoned mine. There were some equipment lying around but majority of it has fallen into disrepair. The second image was of a massive figure comprised entirely out of stone. It stood almost as tall as the War Room and looked like it could cripple anyone sitting at the table in just one hit.

“This is Star-Eyed Forest, and it receives its name from the gemstones that can be mined from its many tunnels.” Loki turned the team’s attention to the gemstones “Make no mistake, these gemstones are susceptible to magic and are incredibly useful when it comes to enchantments. However as you can plainly see the mines have been abandoned because of this stone demon that has occupied the area. The team’s mission is to travel to Star-Eyed Forest located to the north of here and claim the mine for our purposes.”

he cleared away the two images and drew up an image of a map “Due to its distance the Bestowers will not be able to bring you all the way towards the forest. There will be some sections where you will need to traverse on foot. Use this to your advantage and take on any quest you deem worth your time to increase your skill level along the way. Taking into account your travel time the journey going towards Star-Eyed Forest will take five days. Do not worry about the round trip back towards the temple, I can recall all of you back once your mission is complete. The spell only works as a recall and will not work in sending you towards your destination. Are there any questions?”

“Who’s going to be the leader of this rag tag team of warriors?” Pete huffed out his chest ‘subtly’ hinting that he’d like to be the one to lead

“Kitsune.” Loki answered almost immediately as he slid over a satchel towards the fox, who was still processing his promotion

Curious, Kitsune opened the satchel and found numerous items. The first was a vial similar to the one he had given Vidar except much more intricately designed. Next were six stone horses carved to life-like detail. Beside the stone horses was a scroll wrapped neatly in a silk ribbon. The last item inside the satchel was a small green flag with the number six woven onto its banner.

Pete, caught off guard by the announcement tried to argue with Loki “But commander I~

“I’ve made my decision, and you will do as Kitsune orders.” Loki asserted himself effectively putting an end to Pete’s argument “Good. Now Kitsune, inside that satchel you will find the Legionnaire's eyes, which grants the user the ability to see exactly where his subordinates are at any given time, the mount carvings which turn into full sized horses to help speed up your journey, a scroll that lists the class and details of your teammates, and finally a Respawn Flag. Normally when a Player or Avatar is felled in battle they respawn back in their base temple, however all you need to do is plant the Respawn Flag onto the gravestone of an ally and once their timer is up will respawn on the spot. Use all these items well.”

Once he had given them all the information they needed, Loki paused, most likely to see if anyone had any questions that they wanted to ask him. When no one bothered Loki stood up and left the War Room, leaving the team to their own devices. Seeing as Kitsune was the team’s newly appointed leader he quickly stashed the satchel and turned his attention to his allies.

The only problem was that Kitsune’s allies were all preoccupied with their own miscellaneous tasks. As soon as Loki had left the War Room, Dragon buried her face in her book, Pete was busy inspecting his scythe, Vidar was checking his bow and arrows, while Apep, out of nowhere had a snake in his hands and was feeding it some sort of berry.

“If you’re out leader, then that makes you our Chief.” Garm said suddenly catching Kitsune off guard “I am Garm it's nice to meet you.”

Kitsune grabbed his hand and shook it “That’s right, we’ve never formally met before. The name’s Kitsune. By the way, are you sure you’re up to this? Maybe you need a little more time to rest.”

“I’m fine.” Garm demonstrated this by stretching out his arm “In fact I feel great! When do we head out Chief?”


“Whatever, Chief.” Pete snorted with pure sarcasm as he reattached the scythe to his back “Let’s just get this stupid mission over with.”

“Agreed.” Apep sighed as he followed Pete out the War Room Doors soon followed by Dragon and Vidar

While Garm raced to join the others on their way out Kitsune rushed over to Vidar so he could hold him back for a few moments. Kitsune might not have known him for long but the sudden change in the wolf’s demeanor had the four tailed fox concerned.

“Vidar,” Kitsune started off slowly “are you alright? You just disappeared on me back there.”

“It’s just something a little personal okay. Really, you don’t have to be so concerned, but thanks anyway.” he said perking up a little

Kitsune sighed as he let him go, so that the two could rejoin the rest of their team “Fine, but if it ever happens again, you can always talk to me about it.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.” Vidar said whole heartedly

End of Chapter 03

It's PRO TIPS WITH KITSUNE TODAY'S TOPIC: The Oversight Mechanic

Now as some of you already know Celestials aren't really known for their cooperation skills. So in order to further cement teamwork in this game, the developers came up with the Oversight Mechanic. Which takes shape as the strange markings you see under our eyes. Offense and Defense have their marks placed under their right eye while Supports and Healers have theirs placed under their left eye. However should you be named the leader of your team, the markings will appear underneath both eyes.

See in most games important information like Health or Mana points are readily available to you, here it isn't that simple. Each category can see one vital piece of information, forcing those in a pantheon to stick together and work as a team.

Offense can see which of the enemy team has the lowest health by comparison
Defense can see which one of their teammates has accumulated the most aggro and is therefore the most likely to be hit
Healers can see their teammates' health
Supports can see whether or not their teammates are inflicted with a buff or debuff

These markings can be modified to do something more like Vidar's Scout eye and my Legionnaire's eyes but these vials have to either be earned through quests or given to you by someone who already has a vial.

That's all for today so see ya!

***

Try as he might Garm couldn't work up the courage to speak to the two celestials walking in front of him. Pete had this unwelcoming air to him that made Garm shudder. It was a different story with Dragon though, she seemed friendly enough, but all his time spent as an outcast has made Garm unfamiliar when conversing with a female, let alone a celestial female. The only one he could try to strike up a conversation with was Apep, and right now, the black wolf thought it was better than walking in complete silence.

"Hello there," Garm said as friendly as he could while catching up to the brown Lynx "it looks like we'll be working together in a team. Back in my home town warriors or hunter grouped together would often call each other brother or sister. My name is~

The Lynx cut him off before Garm could continue "Yes I've heard about you, Garm is it?" while shutting down the black wolf's attempts to socialize the Lynx did notice the fancier looking gems both around the wolf's neck and wrist "You're quite decorated. Your limiter is much larger and far more intricately designed than mine is and that stone around your wrist; are you of royalty?"

"oh these?" Garm gestured to both his trinkets "The bracelet represents a bond between my other partner, everyone in my village has one. As for the limiter Master Tyr says that it would be unfair for the other players since I have higher than average potential. This is to keep me in line with everyone else."

"Did he now? Interesting." Apep said as his mouth curved into a smile
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Re: U&U Valadirian Conquest (VER2)

Post by ChekeBello »

Everything is almost as I remember, I hyping for the changes on the next chapter. I'm kinda busy these days but once u upload new chapters i will read them asap =)
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Krytus The Dreamer
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Re: U&U Valadirian Conquest (VER2)

Post by Krytus The Dreamer »

ChekeBello wrote:Everything is almost as I remember, I hyping for the changes on the next chapter. I'm kinda busy these days but once u upload new chapters i will read them asap =)
Thanks again for the continued interest. I've been a little busy myself and I'm still getting reacquainted with juggling school work with whatever it is that i wanted to do.

So after finals week has come and gone, as well as the recovery period over with I return with a new chapter. Hopefully I can keep focused on updates but I won't push it too much. (EDIT) also forgot to mention as a slight ret-con I'm changing Apep's fur from brown the gray. It doesn't really affect anything but I just wanted to make it feel a little more appropriate

Chapter 04
A Long Way to go

Hours after they first departed their temple Kitsune liked to think they made great progress on their travels. What should’ve taken them days to traverse was rendered into a single day. It was all made easier with the combined use of the bestowers as well as the mount carvings given to them by Commander Loki. Even so, they still had a ways to go before reaching the Star-eyed Forest. Kitsune shuddered when he thought about having to traverse the entire journey on foot.

That being said, since they were able to skip a large portion of the journey by using the bestowers to fly over the terrain, the team hadn’t been exposed to some kind of combat yet. For now Kitsune had to assess their individual strengths first rather than their team chemistry. Vidar, Pete and Dragon had already showed that they could handle themselves in a fight during their trial, but it was the Avatars that held majority of Kitsune’s concerns. In fact, aside from Garm’s unusually high potential he knew next to nothing about the two new recruits.

Seeing that they did make great progress on their travel Kitsune pulled the reins on his stone horse and held out his hand. Everyone behind Kitsune stopped their stone horses as well, allowing the fox time to scan the area ahead of them. There were trees to offer cover should it rain along with a source of water with the nearby stream. It looked to be an ideal spot to set up for the night.

“Kitsune?” Dragon urged her steed to move closer to the fox “There’s still a fair amount of light left shouldn’t we keep moving?”

Kitsune dismounted and allowed the stone horse to shrink back down to its mini figure form before pocketing the shrunken figure “If we’re going to take on that stone demon we all need to be in optimal fighting condition, and that includes the Avatars. I need to get a grip of what they know and what they can do, so we’re setting up shop for the night.”

“Works for me, call me when we have something to eat. This Limiter thing is making me experience hunger and let me tell you it is not pleasant.” Pete, already making his way to a tree so that he could rest, was halted when a dagger zipped through the air and planted itself in front of Pete’s path

“And just where do you think you’re going?” Kitsune folded his arms and looked at the griffin sternly “We need someone to prepare the sleeping area, gather the firewood, and prep the food.” as Kitsune listed the chores, he noticed Pete rolling his eyes

Pete picked up the dagger and tossed it back to Kitsune “Oh and what will you be doing while all of us are working our tails off?”

“Training them.” Kitsune gestured to Garm and Apep with a nod of his head “Unless of course you’d be willing to take up the teaching position.”

Pete took a moment to look between the two Avatars and the chores that was listed out before being interrupted by Vidar “I call chef duty. I’m in the mood for some shish kebabs.” he announced as he was already in the process of looking through what ingredients they had

Dragon on the other hand was already hard at work clearing the ground of any stray twigs or pebbles and laying out the sleeping bags. This caused Pete to walk away grumbling, obviously to go out and look for firewood Vidar could use to get dinner started. With everyone busy, it only left Kitsune to Garm and Apep. The former of which was already eagerly waiting for him to begin the lesson.

“This is so exciting.” Garm said to Apep, who tried to ignore the wolf “I’ve never really learned anything about combat before. Everyone back at my village keeps telling me I’m not ready for it yet.”

Apep’s look of disbelief was evident as she looked to Kitsune “You honestly mean to tell me that you recruited this pup without knowing whether or not he could hold his own in battle?” this earned the lynx an annoyed look from the black wolf

“It’s completely fine if he doesn’t know the first thing about combat. We have two weeks to change that. Why don’t you two stretch for a bit and loosen up while i go read up on what I’m working with.” Kitsune chuckled at Apep’s accusation as he reached into his locket and fished out the scroll he had been given

Just as Loki said, the scroll had been filled up with everyone’s class and a short description of what they were capable of. It took little effort to find both Garm’s and Apep’s and Kitsune soon found himself analyzing their capabilities and how they would handle themselves in a fight.

Apep Menes
Category: Offense
Subcategory: Damage-Over-Time/Disabler Hybrid
Class: Snake Charmer

Using their extensive knowledge of venoms and snake familiars the Snake Charmer class is capable of striking from a safe enough distance. On the surface the damage output appears minor, but the venom is quickly beginning its work. This can range from slowly damaging the opponent, weakening the opponent's defense or offensive capabilities or simply increasing the effects of still active debuffs. Like the snake familiars they are capable of summoning, the Snake Charmer class wait for the perfect opportunity to strike and simply let their venom do their work for them.

Garm Helson
Category: Null
Subcategory: N/A
Class: Demon Rager

While in their base form, Demon Ragers are completely useless. They have little to no armor, no weapon aside from their soul chain, and no combat ability. However an ability they do have is the sealing ritual, which allows them to bind a creature to their soul, and access their powers when needed. (For the purposes of this game a Demon Rager is only allowed to seal off demons, golems, elementals and idols.) Another point to take note of is that this class, when pushed to the utmost of their limits, is prone to engaging in a rage mode where their attacks and effectiveness is strengthened, but they lose most comprehensive thought in exchange.

Fire Demon Form
Category: Offense
Subcategory: Glass Cannon

The user is granted access to a spear made of flames and minor pyrokinesis while their body is coated in flames. While these flames provide some form of defense (i.e. the deterrent of close quarters physical attacks) these flames are not a substitute for proper armor. In this form Demon Ragers can deal a substantial amount of damage, but at the risk of taking on the same, if not more damage.

Kitsune rolled up the scroll and stashed it inside his locker before giving himself a good stretch. All three of them were categorized as offense, combat was their bread and butter. This meant that for the time being Kitsune could double down on combat training without having to veer off into other lessons like teammate awareness, battlefield monitoring, status monitoring etc. However, in Garm’s case he would need to pick up these up extensively at another time.

“Alright recruits.” Kitsune announced as he circled around the two studying how they carried themselves “According to my files, you, Apep, and to an extent, you, Garm are categorized as offense. This means over the course of this game, you must and will be well versed in the art of combat.” as inconspicuous as he could, Kitsune planted a dagger firmly into the ground while they weren’t looking

“I won’t lie to either of you. Since the two of you hail from Midgard, you will face opponents that seem far more powerful than you are. Some of them have better race perks, some of them have better classes.” Kitsune walked away from both Apep and Garm with his back turned towards them

“Those who hail from Midgard, are comparatively frail, miniscule and even weaker than those of who hail from the other nine realms of this world. However, those who hail from Midgard are adaptable to any situation, capable of learning a wide variety of spells and techniques, and are known to surpass their limits when provided the proper circumstances or if they survive long enough. In other words, Midgard denizens’ perk is potential. So it is my job, assigned by Commander Loki, to guide you to that point. But in order to do that I need to know where you currently stand.” Unknown to either Garm or Apep, Kitsune smirked mischievously

“Let’s get started shall we?” and with that Kitsune suddenly vanished without a trace

Kitsune had translocated himself to the dagger he planted behind his students without their knowledge and begun their lesson. Caught completely off guard Garm received a low sweep off that knocked him off his feet before Kitsune seamlessly drew a second dagger and slashed towards Apep. The gray lynx seemed to have caught on and drew his own dagger to tie with the sly fox.

“That was sloppy;” Kitsune scolded while he held Apep in a stalemate “your opponents won’t be showing you any mercy. They will exploit any weakness you have if they manage to spot it. Your job is to know your own weaknesses and inadequacies inside and out, and to know how to work around them.”

When his four second cool down expired Kitsune made use of his free hand and drew a third dagger before hurling it at Apep to break the stalemate. Apep sidestepped to the left in order to avoid the blade, but fell for the diversion. While still in mid flight, Kitsune teleported to the dagger and was able to deliver a knee to Apep’s stomach and push him back a few feet.

“Excellent reaction time, but I’m much faster than that.” Kitsune announced as he recentered himself “Widen your stance a bit more and keep yourself slightly lowered. I can easily knock you down if you don’t straighten up.”

Apep, now glaring squarely at kitsune spat off in a different direction before brandishing his own dagger. The gray lynx made no moves to advance on Kitsune and instead stalked him, waiting for his moment to strike. Kitsune was wary of Apep as well, with his set of skills an attack could come from virtually anywhere. Though with Apep’s stance Kitsune could very well be expecting a frontal assault when he let his guard down. Apep kept himself lower to the ground as instructed, his dominant hand was pressed firmly to the ground while his off handed one was held high with the dagger.

Since there was virtually no cue or tell, Kitsune failed to remember what Apep had specialized in and felt something brush past his foot. Reacting based on survival instinct alone Kitsune slashed near his right calf and managed to catch a snake before it could sink its fangs into him, spilling a yellowish substance on his leg in the process. Ignoring the sudden burning sensation that shot up his right calf Kitsune returned his attention to Apep, who was now within blade range.

Kitsune parried Apep’s strike and allowed the blade to slide off his own in a direction away from his torso. Once he successfully redirected the attack Kitsune latched onto the lynx’s wrist and disarmed him by giving it a twist. Despite being held in a bad position Apep grit his teeth and held Kitsune in place. Kitsune knew Apep was holding him in place to give his snakes a chance to strike, it was simply a matter of teleporting to another one of his daggers to escape the grip.

“WELL!?” Apep shouted in frustration causing Kitsune to pause “Don’t just sit there! DO SOMETHING!”

Apep’s words managed to snap Garm out of his state of awe and give himself a good shake to center his focus “Uh… right. I’ll be right there.” Garm then crossed his legs and held his hands open in front of each other

At first nothing seemed to be happening, but once Kitsune looked closer he began to take notice of small fledgeling sparks coming to existence between his two hands. Even though the sparks looked far from igniting into a burning flame, Kitsune wasn’t going to let up on his students. If Garm was going to take the time to power up out in the open without any backup or cover whatsoever, Kitsune had to take advantage of it. That way, Garm would be forced to face the flaws in his powers in a controlled environment rather than out in the middle of actual combat.

Casting his thoughts to the dagger he left at the beginning of the training session, Kitsune vanished from Apep’s hold. Suddenly, Kitsune reappeared right next to Garm and disrupted his focus by separating the wolf’s two hands, flipping him over head and slamming Garm back into the ground.

“Quick tip, if you’re going to power up or charge an attack, it’s best if you do it in cover, with your team, or before the battle starts. The enemy will punish you if you fail to cover yourself properly.” Kitsune said testing the pressure around his right calf aside from the burning sensation it was nothing Kitsune had to be concerned about

As he checked himself, Kitsune started to see a broader picture of what the two were capable of. Apep must’ve had some form of combat training back with his people, he knew how to engage, how to lead an opponent into a trap, as well as how to handle his dagger. For now Apep would be passable as he is, and only needed a few more coaching sessions.

Garm, on the other hand, was not kidding when he said he was taught next to nothing. Not only did he sit on the sidelines for the duration of the entire fight, but he didn’t seize the opportunity Apep provided to charge up his powers. From the looks of it, Kitsune would have to build up Garm’s combat experience from the ground up and with the stone golem encounter slowly drawing near, Kitsune had his work cut out for him.

“Alright Apep, take a breather.” Kitsune gestured for the lynx to take a seat “Garm it’s just you and me.”

Garm, already in the process of picking himself up, frowned a little “I-I dunno Chief. What would be the point? We’ve already established I’m basically no good in a fight.”

“That might be true, but I do want to test something. Combat is more than just practice makes perfect.” Kitsune recentered himself

Kitsune almost felt bad for being hard on the wolf pup. Being put on the spot to fight all of a sudden was probably nerve wracking for him. However it was a necessity, Garm may have no combat experience to guide him, but Kitsune wanted to see if he could draw out a warrior’s other guide: Instinct.

Without warning Kitsune hurled his dagger at Garm causing the wolf to duck in order to avoid the attack. Again, Kitsune’s student took the bait, and focused on one target rather than everything around him. Kitsune exploited the opening once more and rushed in with a dagger in each hand to attack the wolf.

Rather than trying to accumulate power to access his flame demon form, Garm instead summoned his red glowing chain in an attempt to block out the in coming attacks. With his daggers Kitsune was a swift force to be wary of in the battle field, and Garm seemed to understand that, at least instinctually. Using the reach of his chain Garm was able to lash out at Kitsune from a distance and tried to keep him at the outermost limits of it.

However Kitsune still had the advantage when it came to his weapons. Shifting the grip he had on the throwing knife, Kitsune hurled it once more, only to have it deflected by Garm’s chain. In less than a second after impact, Kitsune translocated to the position of his dagger and instantly closed the gap between him and Garm.

Giving no room for Garm to react, Kitsune once again went for Garm’s legs and exploited his poor form. It was easy work for Kitsune to destabilize Garm’s stance and forcefully slam him into the ground. Due to the heat of battle Kitsune followed up his take down by grabbing onto Garm’s foot and tossing him aside.

“Finally! I got the fire started!” Vidar announced as he looked down at his handiwork, only to have Garm land directly on top of the flame “ARE YOU KIDDING ME!?” the white wolf slumped to the ground in defeat

Kitsune giggled at the sight “Sorry buddy! Now, Garm that should be enough, we’ll need to work extra hard on your combat prowess, as well as how you control your powers. We can work on that… right….

The four tailed fox staggered, all of a sudden his vision clouded slightly. His body began to shut him out, processing the commands he was giving it at an incredibly slowed pace. Kitsune’s eyes widened when he realized the acid from the snake a while ago was suddenly starting to take effect. The tired, defeated yet satisfied smirk Apep gave said it all.

As if his current state wasn’t bad enough a wave of heat hit came out of nowhere hitting Kitsune and knocking him off his feet. Slowly, which was his fastest pace, Kitsune picked himself up and was faced to face with Garm, who was now marching up to him with a determined glare. The black wolf pup still had his chain mail shirt on, but on top of it was a layer of billowing flames flowing around his body to protect him and in his right hand was a spear made entirely out of flames. His eyes were the same as they were on the day they first met, and all Kitsune could do was meet it with his own ferocious and determined look. Kitsune wasn’t about to back down, not when he’d see what Garm was fully capable of.

Garm was the first to make a move and made a beeline for Kitsune. Taking into account his current status condition Kitsune translocated to another of his daggers. The tables have turned, instead of Garm being the one to keep a steady distance it was now Kitsune’s turn. His bread and butter was close quarters combat and Kitsune couldn’t do it when he was slowed to such a degree. Kitsune had no choice but to buy time for the debuff to run its course and wear off.

“Alright Garm,” Kitsune said to himself as he recalled two dagger to his hands “show me what you’re made of.”

Once again, Garm charged Kitsune, having no trouble in closing the gap between the two, and because of the reach of his flaming spear, Kitsune was in attacking range far sooner than he expected. Even with his slowed status, Kitsune did everything he could to avoid the strikes from the flaming blade. He parried whatever attacks he could, ducked and dodged wherever he could, but all of that still wasn’t enough.

Unless Kitsune was back to full capacity, there was nothing he could do to avoid all the damage directed at him. The result was scratches and burn marking making their way to Kitsune’s body, slowly but surely wearing down his HP.

As a last ditch effort to avoid the attacks, Kitsune hurled his dagger one more time as far as he could make it go. The moment it was far enough, Kitsune translocated to its position only to have a searing pain shoot through his entire body starting from his abdomen area. In less than a second, Kitsune’s field of vision went entirely black.

***

Just as quickly as the darkness clouded his vision Kitsune shot up from being laid down flat on the ground. His breathing was hard and labored, as if he had run an entire marathon. The campsite was fairly normal despite the battle that had raged, except instead of relying on a small campfire to keep the group warm, everyone had gathered around a fallen burning tree.

While his head was still a little bit fuzzy, he still had enough sense to look down and see the stomach area of his gi was partially ruined and burned. Obviously there were no wounds to be found anywhere on his body, but what surprised Kitsune was he hadn’t gone into spectator mode. Like what happened with Tsukuyomi, his spirit should’ve been projected to witness the aftermath of the battle. The only logical reason Kitsune could come up with was that he was damaged so far that he faded into unconsciousness even in spirit form.

“Well look who decided to rejoin the world of the living.” Pete said mockingly as he approached Kitsune

Kitsune stood, albeit with a twinge of pain from his stomach, but stood nonetheless “How long was I out and what happened while I was out?”

“Well,” Dragon handed Kitsune a chunk of meat on a stick “you kinda died to Garm, then we had to use a rez flag on you, then while we were busy with that Garm ran away.”

“What? Why didn’t you guys go after him?” Kitsune said before taking a bit out of his shishkebab

“Why bother?” Apep said from his resting spot as he gazed into the night sky “The pup will be back eventually. Just let him simmer down for a bit.”

Vidar rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly “I tried to, but… the initial flash from the explosion of flames blinded me for a bit since my eyes are a little more sensitive. I can see perfectly fine now, but I didn’t want to go out there alone. You don’t know what you’re going to find out there.”

Kitsune reexamined what he last remembered from the training. Garm was on the losing side of the battle and Kitsune was about to conclude that, judging from the training, Garm knew next to nothing about combat. However something changed in that wolf pup, enough to sway the tide of battle entirely in his favor. Now that Kitsune was looking back on it, this must’ve been the potential Tyr was talking about. Even among Midgardians, Garm must have unbelievable amounts of potential. He could see why Tyr would be so intent on checking up on the pup as often as he could.

For now Kitsune had to put it aside, one of his own is missing and it was his job as leader to rein him in “Vidar, you ready to head out? I’m gonna need your night vision out there.” Kitsune looked to the white wolf who was in the middle of chewing a kebab

“Alright, just let me get my bow.” He said after swiftly swallowing

End of Chapter 4

Its PRO TIPS WITH KITSUNE! TODAY'S TOPIC: Race Perks: Midgardians

In the nine realms of Valadir there are countless races and species to choose from for an Avatar. Each realm has unique environments and circumstances that all influence the growth and development of the people who dwell in those realms. Since Midgard is situated in the center of the nine realms, countless threats and terrors manage to spill into their world. Demons, disasters, other races at times, all these factors have made the people of Midgard hardy, adaptable, and high in potential. Compared to other races they don't have a lot going for them, but if you invest enough time into an avatar for the late game it will be well worth it.

That's all for today so see ya!

***

Garm sat in front of a small pond, the crescent moon reflecting upon its clear surface along with his despondent face. Long had he run out of tears to cry, leaving behind only matted fur in the process of drying. He couldn't believe how naive he was, how eager he was to learn of the art of combat, but have a sudden distaste for putting an end to someone. This was not Garm's first encounter with death, he had been on hunts before, but only as a pack-wolf, a pup to help carry some of the meat home. Despite seeing what hunting entailed he wanted to be a part of the experience someday. It was the first time he had to be the one directly responsible for death. How could Garm compete in a competition if he was unwilling to finish the job.

"So, you did quite the number on me huh?" Garm recoiled at the sound of Kitsune's voice

"By the nine realms!" Garm suddenly shifted to his knees "You've come from Helheim to haunt me! I beg for your forgiveness!"

Kitsune stared at the black wolf for a few seconds before bursting out into laughter "W-Wait, you thought that you... with that spear... that is too much." he began to calm down a little "Didn't anyone explain to you the death mechanic. If i was allowed all of my celestial powers you couldn't even scratch me."

"So you're not dead?" Garm prodded and poked at Kitsune's abdomen

"Garm, we Celestials aren't so graphic to demand mortals killing other mortals for our own amusement. There is a limit to what we demand from you, and what you did today didn't put me and won't put any other Avatars on death's door. Its all in good fun and we'd never push avatars too far." Kitsune patted Garm's shoulder comfortingly "In fact what you did today was extraordinary, just don't do it to regular mortals. Despite what everyone says back at your village you've got a knack for combat, be proud of that. Spend a few matches with me and we'll make a master out of you yet."

"Thanks." he said somewhat feeling a little better with Kitsune's compliments
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Re: U&U Valadirian Conquest (VER2)

Post by Obbl »

Garm is so precious! :D
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Re: U&U Valadirian Conquest (VER2)

Post by D-Rock »

Alright, FINALLY managed to catch up.

Garm is quite the compassionate soul, isn't he?
Faith doesn't change circumstances. Faith changes me.
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Re: U&U Valadirian Conquest (VER2)

Post by NHWestoN »

Kids! What're'ya gonna do, eh?
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Re: U&U Valadirian Conquest (VER2)

Post by ChekeBello »

These changes really make the story feels alot deeper than the last iteration; I like how we seen more than just the doing of the current quest, this sparing match was really good to read; I'm hoping we see more about the party members interacting with each other, how they create ties. I enjoyed the original chapter and this new one was even more enjoyable =)
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Re: U&U Valadirian Conquest (VER2)

Post by Krytus The Dreamer »

Hey Guys! I'm alive!

The reason why i was gone for so long was because well... inhales

School really kicked in with my new classes and because of that writing got hard. I also got super obsessed with trying to improve art wise. It also didn't help that i was taking too long to get to school and taking too long to get home also. Then there was the fact that I had to move into a new apartment that had no internet connection at all. but now, a week after I've moved in it does.

But hey at least I got something done for now
Obbl wrote:Garm is so precious! :D
D-Rock wrote:Alright, FINALLY managed to catch up.

Garm is quite the compassionate soul, isn't he?
NHWestoN wrote:Kids! What're'ya gonna do, eh?
In the trope of the five man band which is generally comprised of The Leader, The Lancer, The Big Guy, The Smart Guy, and the Heart. Garm is meant to be the heart of the group (i.e the emotional center) that means I've been able to make him a little more likable and emotionally ground from his past iteration so thanks!
ChekeBello wrote:These changes really make the story feels alot deeper than the last iteration; I like how we seen more than just the doing of the current quest, this sparing match was really good to read; I'm hoping we see more about the party members interacting with each other, how they create ties. I enjoyed the original chapter and this new one was even more enjoyable =)
Nice! making it more character focused is what I was aiming for since eventually it gets hard to care or be invested in characters if they have none to speak of

anyway enough talking from me enjoy chapter 5

Chapter 05
An Archer’s Mark


Vidar did not agree with this set up. Out of everyone in the team he could’ve been paired up with, Kitsune had to make it the least agreeable and most obnoxious of the five possible pairings. Not only did Pete constantly look down on the white wolf, he always did it with a certain tone in his voice. One that clearly stated how disappointed or let down he was despite Vidar having done nothing to deserve it. Nonetheless a mission was a mission and Vidar had to comply, no matter how much he hated being paired with the griffon in the first place. The events were still clear in the white wolf’s head.

***

“Alright gang, everyone huddle up.” Kitsune beckoned as he unfurled the map “We’re going to take a path through the swampy valley up ahead. According to the notes from Commander Loki it’s filled with unpredictable monsters, and that’s it. Not a lot of info to go on but it’s the fastest route we’ve got.” Kitsune folded the map and turned to Vidar

“In light of this information, Vidar, I’m going to need you to go on ahead to make sure the way is clear.” Vidar flinched when he heard his named being called

As soon as Kitsune issued the mission, Pete chuckled “A solo mission for sharpshooter? Are you sure about that?”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Vidar held back a snarl but his body language betrayed him and still conveyed anger

Pete said nothing directly to Vidar, but elbowed Garm while whispering to the pup “At least we know he isn’t deaf too am I right?”

“That’s enough out of you, Pete.” Kitsune interjected with an annoyed look on his face “Since you clearly recognize Vidar’s shortcomings you can more than make up for it as his back up”

The amusement Pete had on his face slowly faded away as he processed what Kitsune was saying “I guess I walked right into that one. ”

He didn’t outright say it, but he might as well have. The tone of his voice said it all. Pete saw Vidar as a nuisance, a chore that he had to bare with a grain of salt. The worst part of it all was that Vidar knew Pete was speaking the truth. He did have the worst accuracy possible with the bow and he would get into trouble if Pete wasn’t there to protect him. Vidar hated what Pete was implying but at the same time, it was all true.

After silencing Pete with nothing but a glare Kitsune turned to the white wolf whose ears had fallen lopsided “Don’t listen to him. What matters is that you’ve tried your best, because that’s all I can ask of you. Now, if you deem a path safe, mark a tree with an x. Should anything go horribly wrong don’t be afraid to fall back and come for help. Realizing when you need help is also part of the experience. Understand?”

“I understand.” Vidar nodded

***

Since there were no monsters in sight Vidar left an x mark on a tree using one of his claws. So far nothing had come out to bother them, and Vidar hoped it would stay that way. Should they get ambushed by something, they would be sitting at a huge disadvantage since there was so many options in the way of cover. In addition to the multiple trees, there was little light thanks to the canopy blocking out most of the light, a fog cover as well as murky waters that they had to tread through so they’d be considerably slowed down.

Sure Vidar could see in the dark, but that was the most they had in terms of a warning system. Even then, if both Pete and Vidar engaged in combat, only Vidar would have consistent sight while Pete would struggle with such an environment. Monsters in the swamp had the homefield advantage and it would take time to adapt to fighting in such an environment. All the more reason that the two had to keep their guard up

As Vidar finished leaving another x mark on a nearby tree, he felt his shoulders sag. He had to improve himself somehow, but he didn’t exactly know how to. Just to satisfy his own curiosity, Vidar held his bow at the ready and drew an arrow. He tried to narrow his focus to the x mark he recently made. Once he was sure his sights were set Vidar loosed the arrow to let it sail across the air. A few seconds later it grazed the side of the tree and plunged itself into another tree behind Vidar’s intended target.

With a disappointed sigh, Vidar looked forlornly at the x mark. Had that been an enemy, Vidar would’ve lost the duel, had that been an ally Vidar would’ve been too late to provide support that could’ve turned the tide of battle. He still had a long way to go.

“You’re never going to hit anything like that.” Pete sighed, catching Vidar by surprise and sending his heart into a panic

As soon as Vidar had a moment to calm down, Vidar switched from panic to annoyance once more “Sure, keep saying that, just like everyone else.” he notched a second arrow and tried to reset his focus for the x mark only to fail a second time, landing the arrow on a separate tree

“Hey, I’m just saying, that stance, pathetic.” There it was again, that nagging, superior tone that made Vidar’s blood boil

“Oh?” Vidar said through grit fangs “If you’re so good at it, then how would you do it then?”

Pete raised his brow at Vidar’s tone as well. He shrugged it off like it was nothing before ruthlessly grabbing Vidar’s bow and taking an arrow from his quiver. Pete took a moment to gauge the bow in his own hands then study the arrow’s structure. After a few short moments Pete breathed in and out.

“Hitting an archer’s mark takes high levels of skill and concentration, even more so with trick shots. Your stance must be straight, there isn’t any room for slouching even in the slightest. Don’t be afraid to pull your arm further back. The string won’t snap, its well made and sturdy, it will hold. Take into account everything that happens on the battlefield. The distance between you and your target, the wind speed, all airborne targets, friendlies everything. All of that should factor into your aim. Breathe; a calm and focused mind means less tremors, less hesitation, and~

Pete let the arrow loose as it sailed a clear and concise arch across the air. Thanks to his scout eye enhancing his sight, Vidar was able to see the arrow as it spun across the air, majestically cleaving an invisible path towards the mark. Soon the arrow dig into the tree bark, exactly between the x Vidar had carved.

“Bullseye.” Pete said with a defiant smirk

The white wolf was so amazed by the feat that he failed to realize Pete and thrown his bow towards him only to mess it up and drop the weapon into the murky waters. “Follow my teachings and maybe, just maybe, you won’t be completely worthless in battle.” Pete then proceeded to walk away without taking so much as a moment to let Vidar salvage his weapon from the murky waters

Just like that Vidar made another instantaneous switch from amazed to infuriated “Alright I get it I suck at being an archer. Don’t you think I know that? Is it really necessary to rub it in?” he fished his bow out of the water and caught up to the griffon

“Why did you choose that class in the first place?” Pete responded nonchalantly, when Vidar failed to respond Pete did it for him “Choosing a class is basically saying that you are proficient in it. When someone fails at the basics of the basics of that class they are essentially lying, and i just feel like i should point it out.”

“I~

“You could’ve chosen any class, offense, defense, heck a healer if you so wanted but you chose support. Oh and not just any support, one that has potential to completely one-eighty the tide of battle, if and only if the player lands their shots, otherwise they’re dead in the water. The team shouldn’t have to suffer from your inability to gauge your own skills and your poor choices.”

Vidar felt the words build up in his chest, anger and frustration infusing into the words he was about to spit out at Pete. All of that and suddenly the words failed to come out of his mouth. Instead they held their place for a few more seconds and only came out as a whimper Pete failed to even hear.

“But I didn’t have a choice.”

Even though the swamp had been eerily quiet, the words Pete had spoken seemed to echo about indefinitely. They had hit Vidar like a stampeding mammoth, rendering his legs immobile and his vision locked solely on his submerged feet. He wanted to set the record straight, but the shame… Vidar couldn’t bare it.

“Aw did I hurt your little feelings?” Pete said in a mocking tone “Please. Get over it.”

Amidst Pete’s mocking tone, Vidar heard something stir in the swamp, something nearby. From the looks of it Pete failed to pick up on the sound but Vidar did. Whatever it was, Vidar could tell it was close and getting closer.

“Shut up.” Vidar’s ears swiveled around trying desperately to detect the source

Pete raised his brow for a second time “Oh so the little doggie has a bark? Too bad it isn’t any better than your bite.”

“I am serious.” Vidar said once more this time putting his eyes to work to scan for anything in the darkness “Please shut up.”

Before both Celestials could properly react, a set of vines instantly dropped down. Vidar was taken first and immediately held upside down, riding him of his entire supply of arrows. The instant the vines had a hold on him Vidar felt his strength beginning to fail him. All his limbs felt heavier as his vision started to cloud. From what Vidar could tell, Pete was experiencing this as well. Pete managed to have his scythe out and slashing at any vines that came into proximity, but they were quickly outnumbering him. Soon he began to weaken as well but not without one final act.

Using the last of his strength Pete made one more slash to free Vidar from the grips of the vines before kicking him away. The maneuver caused Vidar to hit his back against a tree before falling back down to the murky waters. Vidar, as much as he wanted to help Pete, was too weakened to do anything but lay low. As the vines continued to wrap around the griffon, Vidar noticed a purple aura beginning to flare around Pete.

Vidar instantly knew it was a debuff, no doubt because of the original effect of his eye. Specifically, the debuff Pete had been infected with was continuous drain on MP and Stamina. If the debuff remained, Pete was going to be in serious trouble, and because this was strictly a scouting mission Kitsune still had the rez flags.

As Vidar continued to lay low, the vines sufficiently ensnared Pete and proceeded to haul the griffon away. Urged by the spur of the moment Vidar gathered his strength and got up on his two feet. The action of him getting up caused the water beneath him to sound off which in turn caught the attention of the remaining vines. With the vines returning their attention to him, Vidar halted his movements and held his breath. The vines got close but when Vidar refused to make another sound the vines lost interest and slithered away.

Once he was sure the vines were nowhere nearby Vidar limped his way back towards the two trees he left with an arrow. From what he could tell the vines react to sound, too much of it and the vines attack, not enough and the vines won’t even bother paying attention. Kitsune and the rest of his team was still too far back for Vidar to return to. Should Pete be taken out before the team catches up to him, the griffon would be forced to start back from the base temple. Thus they wouldn’t be able to take on their original mission.

Vidar was on a strict time limit so he didn’t have enough time to salvage all of his arrows from beneath the water, instead he only had time to reclaim the ones he and Pete left on the trees while they were practicing. That meant that Vidar only had three arrows to work with rather than an entire quiver. With a disgruntled sigh Vidar set both arrows in his quiver before quietly making his way towards the direction he saw Pete get dragged to.

As Vidar followed the direction Pete was dragged of to, he made sure to continue marking trees through the swamp. It was a slow and meticulous process, following Pete, marking the path, keeping himself silent. However Vidar couldn’t let up, as of this moment he was the only one who could remotely help Pete at the moment.

The more Vidar followed the direction Pete was taken, the more Vidar noticed the vines beginning to increase in number. This resulted in Vidar having to slow down his pace as to not be detected by the vines. Eventually Vidar found Pete slowly but surely being cocooned and placed in front of a large lotus slowly blossoming to reveal a large toothy mouth. Vidar finally put the pieces together. The MP and stamina drain was only to weaken their lotus’ prey and once they were weak enough would be drawn into be consumed.

The real problem came in the form of the monster he was up against. Vidar was a support class and was incapable of producing damage strong enough to finish off the creature of even fend it off. His real strength came in the form of lifting others up to their full potential, rather than taking all the glory for himself. Specifically, Soul Reapers are an Enabler/Disabler support class and have the ability to harvest mana from their enemies and then distribute them among their allies in the form of buffs or extra mana.

His only real hope was getting Pete back on his feet. However doing so would required Vidar to land a shot on Pete. In addition to having multiple obstacles obstructing direct line of sight between Pete and Vidar, the vines were also slowly covering up the griffon. There was absolutely no way around the situation. Vidar had to make the shot otherwise the team would suffer as a result.

Bit by bit Vidar edged slightly closer to Pete to increase the size of his target. Once he ventured as close as he possibly could to the lotus monster Vidar drew one of two arrows he had left. Just as Pete had instructed earlier Vidar straightened his back, pulled the arrow as far as far back as he possibly could. Despite the time pressure slowly setting in on him Vidar tried his best to keep his breathing calm. It did help to lessen the tremors his hands were experiencing as well as refine his own focus.

The moment Vidar was sure the arrow would hit its mark, he loosed the arrow. As it sailed across the air light began to envelop it slowly making it look like a comet streaking through the night time sky. Unfortunately however, as the arrow flew it gave off a faint whistling noise and aparantly it was enough to be detected. One of the vines that were obscuring Pete made a drastic shift in movement and knocked the arrow off course. The result was Vidar’s arrow hitting the tree behind Pete instead.

Silently cursing to himself, Vidar tried to reposition himself to get a better angle and to avoid getting caught. However, the lotus was already aware of his prescence and left Pete to take care of Vidar along with its own vines. Vidar ducked and dodged the vines headed his way, there was abosultely no way he was going to hit Pete from his current distance and situation. There was just too much that got in the way.

As he ran Vidar had his second arrow already notched and on standby. Vidar only needed a good angle to work with, but that was nearly impossible with the giant plant monster currently on his tail. Not only was the chase putting pressure on him, but the vines swarming around him required him to focus on where he was going while keeping line of sight with Pete.

Seeing as running away from the creature got him nowhere Vidar took a chance and halted his position. Once more he followed Pete’s steps one by one. Straight back, arm pulled far back, breathe. However, because the monster was in such a close proximity to Vidar it made him panic as tremors rocked his hands. This resulted in the arrow piercing the tree bark next to Pete’s head.

In addition to him messing up his latest shot, the monster caught up with Vidar and managed to ensnare him by the foot with its vines and hoist him upside down once more. Reacting fast Vidar grabbed the final arrow in his quiver before it could fall to the waters beneath him. This was his last chance, if he messed up the shot it would spell the end for both him and Pete.

Vidar ignored the feeling of the debuff going to work, the sensation of his strength leaving him. He shut everything out, the monster’s rancid breath, the pressure of failure, Vidar focused only on his breathing and his target. The moment his mind had reached the highest point of focus Vidar let the arrow fly as it tore across the air.

Due to being influenced by the debuff, Vidar could no longer shut out the exhaustion he was feeling. His vision blurred and his strength completely left him, causing him to drop his bow to the swampy ground. Before his vision could completely go away Vidar saw the lotus monster open its bud to reveal its many rows of teeth to consume him whole. However, in the last possible second a long blade pierced the mouth of the lotus. Suddenly Vidar was overcome with a feeling of weightlessness, only to have it come to an abrupt halt.

Since the beast was no more, the debuff ran its course and Vidar slowly came to his senses. What greeted him the faces of both Dragon and Kitsune as a look of relief replaced their looks of worry.

“It looks like i got to you in the nick of time.” Dragon’s hand was held over Vidar’s weakened body, slowly replenishing his strength

Kitsune chuckled to himself “You had us worried for a second.”

“How did you get to us in time?” Vidar said slowly positioning himself upright “I never sent word or left any messages behind.”

“Yeah but did you forget about my new eyes’ powers? I saw both of you in trouble so i had the rest of us double the pace to catch up with you.” Kitsune stuck his tongue out playfully

Vidar face plamed for forgetting Kitsune could do such a thing “Anyway thanks for saving me.”

“Uh we didn’t save you. We only managed to get to you at the very last second.” Dragon responded in a confused manner

“If you didn’t…” Vidar looked to his surroundings and found Apep and Garm only now catching up with the group “Then… who did?”

With his four remaining team members only now catching up to him, that meant only one other player could have been responsible. Reluctantly Vidar turned to look behind him to the lotus monster’s corpse and found the weapon that had saved his life. It’s owner, Pete pulled the blade out with the lotus still attached to it.

When Pete finally noticed Vidar staring at him, he broke eye contact before plucking the lotus bulb from his blade then tossing it to Garm “I think that thing could still be of use to us.”

“Uh, what is this?” Garm asked as he caught the lifeless plant

“Seal it and find out what it does for you.” Pete walked away with his hand waving “Now if you’ll excuse me I need to get the scent of flower off me. I smell like a freaking garden.”

Vidar hesitated at first but worked up the courage “Pete I~

“The first lesson is free by the way.” Pete still walking away didn’t even bother to turn around “The next one’s gonna cost ya.”

Vidar gave one more frustrated sigh, Pete was Pete after all. He wanted to get frustrated with the way he was talked down to once again, but at the same time, he was grateful. The fact that Pete was able to break the hold the lotus monster had on him meant he was able to land his shot precisely on point. It took three attempts to do so on an unmoving target but it was progress Vidar was happy to make.

“Uh Chief?” Vidar turned around to see Garm wrapped in a cloak made of leaves with a sharp pointed rapier in his hands “How would i even begin to use a sword this thin?”

***

While everyone was huddled to themselves around the fire cooking food and preparing the campsite, Pete was off on his own gathering firewood. Whenever Kitsune called for everyone to do their chores, it was the one Pete always chose. It gave him a chance to enjoy the silence and the company of his own thoughts.

He just never was that type. The kind to join others willingly, the noise they made just got on his nerves constantly. Pete much prefered the silence, and the wilderness gave it to him unconditionally.

“Pete?” The griffon sighed as Vidar made an attempt to approach him “I just wanted to ~”

Pete paid him no heed and continued to gather sticks “Look I get it, you don’t like the way i talk to you, but no matter what you say I’m just gonna~

“Thank you.” Pete almost dropped his sticks as he turned to the white wolf “Thank you for teaching me. I was angry at first, but i learned from it and for that i want to say thank you.”

It was written all over his face, the way Vidar bashfully scratched his cheek, he was grateful. Actually genuinely grateful. Hearing the wolf utter two simple words made Pete feel warm inside.

“Y-Yeah, well don’t mention it.” He said looking away to gather a few more kindling

Vidar smiled a little bit more, but was genuinely surprised when he heard Apep sneeze nearby “Aw, Apep you ruined their moment.” Garm stood up from his hiding place in the bushes still in his new form alongside Apep

“It isn’t my fault.” Apep sneezed once more “It’s your idiotic new form; I think I might be allergic.”

“I still don’t know how to control it yet!” Garm argued back

END OF CHAPTER 5
Last edited by Krytus The Dreamer on Tue Dec 12, 2017 3:54 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: U&U Valadirian Conquest (VER2)

Post by D-Rock »

Pete's an interesting teacher. Though he has a reason; even if you don't like him, your support better be able to do their job.
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Re: U&U Valadirian Conquest (VER2)

Post by ChekeBello »

I don't think they are any close to be friends, but this seem like at a begin. I like how this chapter went, it was mostly a Vidar, hope we get one for Pete soon, I like him a bit more now :P
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Re: U&U Valadirian Conquest (VER2)

Post by Krytus The Dreamer »

Pete's an interesting teacher. Though he has a reason; even if you don't like him, your support better be able to do their job.
My overwatch career in a nutshell
I don't think they are any close to be friends, but this seem like at a begin. I like how this chapter went, it was mostly a Vidar, hope we get one for Pete soon, I like him a bit more now :P
well they have to start somewhere, and that can be arranged... someday....

Oh well will you look at that... I'm still alive... again. Sorry its been a while, one of the main issues of not being able to post regularly is no drive... and homework. School was a lot harder than i remembered it to be. Anyway, enjoy this new chapter with our favorite little wolf pup.



Chapter 06
Conviction

Due to their limiters doing as their names implied, the Celestials of the group now had mortal limitations. These included, hunger, thirst and most notably exhaustion. In order to get around their need for sleep the standard and most logical procedure would be to assign a watch and allow everyone to sleep in shifts. However, as soon as one of Kitsune’s team members finished his nightly duties and alerted the next one to take watch, rather than go straight to sleep he decided to make better use of his time.

Garm’s breath was ragged and taxed. His legs wobbled and strained as it struggled to hold him standing even though he had a lightweight frame. Clearly the wolf pup was exhausted far beyond what he was capable of but still he assumed proper form and held his rapier against a boulder that wordlessly stated its challenge.

Despite Kitsune having gone to rest several hours prior, Kitsune’s words continued to instruct Garm “While still classified as a sword, a rapier is fundamentally different from its relatives. It is an elegant weapon prioritizing quick strokes or thrusts that do little damage but continue to stack over time. When carrying a rapier into battle, the game has essentially changed to an endurance battle. Your job is to be light and quick on your feet as well as your mind. You have to judge when it is safest to rush into battle, deal your contribution before finally getting out.”

Keeping in mind Kitsune’s teachings, Garm steadied his ragged breath. His stance was straightened while his rapier was held back, ready to swing. Once Garm gathered enough concentration the wolf pup rushed towards the rock at full speed. Soon the gap was closed and Garm landed three rapier thrusts that managed to chip off fragments of rock before Garm kicked off the rock to distance himself. However, the moment he landed Garm made another rush towards the rock with another three strikes.

The first two strike landed without a problem, but when it came to the third thrust the wooden rapier couldn’t handle the strain and finally snapped. Still carrying the momentum from his thrust Garm’s fist had no choice but to strike the rock causing the wolf pup to unwillingly let out a yelp of pain.

Falling to his knees Garm clutched his injured hand as he felt it throb with pain. Garm felt the tears begin to well up in his eyes but he immediately shook himself straight. To him, this should be nothing; it was nothing. If he was going to set out to prove that he wasn’t a useless weakling this was nothing worth shedding tears over. He was strong.

“Are you hurt?” Garm flinched when he heard Dragon approach, her voice loaded with concern

“N-No maam.” Garm said shakily “I-I’m fine Lady Dragon, really.”

Obviously unconvinced with Garm’s poor acting ability Dragon sat down and held out her hand wordlessly. Garm knew when he’s been discovered so he put up no fight and gingerly placed his injured hand in her palm. Even though it's only been a few seconds since the injury, the hand was already swollen and when Dragon prodded at the hand Garm recoiled fiercely out of pain. Despite how painful or swollen it looked Dragon didn’t even bat an eye and simply brought out her staff and stamped it down in front of her before clasping her hands together.

“Do you know what time it is?” Dragon said a few seconds after she released her hands

Hesitantly Garm looked up to the sky and found the moon shining directly overhead “The middle of nig~

“Midnight that’s correct.” Dragon scolded, causing Garm to flinch once more “While we Celestials might need sleep now thanks to the limiters, the only penalty we get for ignoring it is exhaustion. You on the other hand it's a completely different story.”

“How is that Lady Dragon?” Garm tilted his head in confusion

When Garm mentioned ‘Lady Dragon’ Dragon’s frown continued to worsen “First, it's just Dragon. Second you’re still a pup. How do you even expect to grow any taller if you don’t get proper sleep? You’ll be exhausted and in addition to that you’ll be short your whole life. Do you want that?”

“But… I~.” Garm sighed somewhat in defeat “No, Lad~ I mean, Dragon.”

“What were you even doing out here at this time of night anyway?” Dragon said before her eyes happened on the rock Garm used for practice

The wolf pup laughed nervously “Well… you see… I was practicing.” Garm gave one more sigh that seemed to be caught between inspired and defeated “Everyone here is just… amazing. I have to be able to stand alongside everyone here as an equal. I won’t be the same useless pup from my village and since Kitsune explained to me that it's all part of the game I don’t have to hold back. I’m going to improve myself, but to do that i need to do…. Something; anything.”

After hearing the reason as to why Garm was up late at night Dragon couldn’t help but chuckle. Garm took notice of it and followed Dragon’s lead.

“I guess it is a little naive to think i could stand equal to Celestial beings.” Garm nervously scratched his cheek

“I’ll be honest, it is a little bit.” Dragon ruffled Garm’s head affectionately “However, there’s no harm in wanting to improve yourself. Just don’t push yourself too hard.” Dragon leaned in and planted a kiss on Garm’s forehead

As soon as Dragon pulled away Garm immediately felt something come over him. The pain outright disappeared without leaving any trace whatsoever, even the swelling had gone away. With a restored spring in his step Garm rose and ran towards the nearest tree before suddenly realizing Dragon was still behind him then coming to a stop.

Dragon chuckled as Garm faced her with pleading eyes “Only for a little while longer alright?”

“Promise.” Garm said before climbing the tree and snapping off a branch

Now back on the ground, Garm weighed the branch in his hands before giving it a toss skyward. As the branch continued to climb it steadily transformed itself into a replacement rapier that fell gracefully back into Garm’s grasp. Soon the wolf pup was back at it, chipping away at the boulder before rushing out of its theoretical attack range. All while Dragon watched from the sidelines watching for a little bit before she went back to her duties as the night watch.

***

“Get up.” Garm’s eyes crumpled at the sound but his body refused to move

“I’m warning you,” came the muffled voice once more “Get up or I will use force.”

Garm’s body moved, though only to turn over and pile his ears under a layer of dried up leaves to further muffle the sound. After all was said and done, he wished he had taken Dragon’s scolding a little bit more seriously. He felt like his arms were filled with lead and almost impossible to move. Now Garm desperately wanted to get more sleep and considering that the sun wasn’t hitting his eyes it was still far too early to be getting up.

“I warned you.” came the voice again somewhat more muffled thant it was before

Making good and its warnings a sudden and sharp pain flared from Garm’s right calf. The pain was enough to make the pup shoot up to his feet while screeching in a mixture of pain and horror. As soon as his eyes cleared from the abrupt exposure to light Garm found a colorful snake latched on to his leg and still holding on tight with its fangs.

“I’VE BEEN BITTEN!” Garm yelled in a panic while flailing his arms and running in a circle “SOMEONE GET THE ANTIDOTE! I DON’T KNOW HOW MUCH LONGER I HAVE LEFT TO LIVE!”

Garm’s frantic running pattern was cut short when an apple hit him in the face “Calm down its a dry bite.” Apep received a confused look from Garm as he began to nibble on the apple he caught with his face “No venom was administered when you were bitten. Look; that’s not why i had to wake you up. Kitsune’s calling for a meeting and you’re the only one who didn’t show up.”

Garm’s eyes went wide when he realized that he overslept. After giving the apple in his mouth a large bite Garm completely ignored Apep and headed straight for the main camp where everyone should’ve been sleeping. As the trees peeled back soon Garm came upon the camp while Dragon, Pete and Kitsune were in the middle of chatting with one another.

“Finally, took you long enough.” Pete huffed with crossed arms as Garm approached the camp with Apep not too far behind

Kitsune rolled his eyes before tossing Garm a stick with some still warm meat on it “Good and now that everyone’s here we can begin.”

“What about Vidar?” Garm asked with a mouthful of meat “He isn’t here yet.”

“As the scout, Vidar went on ahead to locate our target and had brought us valuable information.” Dragon answered calmly but shot a knowing glance towards Garm to which he laughed in embarrassment

Using a stick Kitsune drew a line in the soil with x marks to refer to them and a square to represent the golem “Alright so, thanks to Vidar, we now know that the golem is currently headed towards an abandoned quarry. We can use this to our advantage and gain superior positioning to avoid taking any unnecessary damage. Pete and I will follow Vidar’s path to confront the beast head on.” Kitsune drew three x marks behind the line “This is the high ground; I want Apep and Dragon to set up here. Not only will you two become less of a target it will also allow us to remain in your effect zone. However, due to the nature of both your abilities you will need Garm to serve as your protection just in case something happens out there. Once both Apep and Dragon are in position Garm is going to join Pete, Vidar and Me in confronting the golem. We only engage once we are all in position. Any questions?”

When no one spoke up Kitsune smirked and raised his fist “Then good luck and have fun!”

***

Garm was stunned at the scenery surrounding him. Sure there have been times where he went outside the boundaries of his marsh, but none of the trips yielded sights such as the one he was currently seeing. The trees surrounding him were the thickest he’s ever seen while bearing leaves of such lush and vibrant color. Even his sense of smell was given a treat as the scent of fresh flowers and ripening berries seemed to ride the wind throughout the forest. Garm only wished he could bring some of it home with him.

“At first I was worried, but it looks like you’re holding up fine for now.” Dragon started as she caught up with the wolf pup “Still you shouldn’t push yourself so hard. You probably didn’t catch enough sleep last night and we still have to face a golem in a few short hours.”

Garm faced Dragon with a vibrant smile while gesturing to the plant life around him “How could I not be? Look at all the plants! I’ve never seen greenery in such good condition while in the wild.”

“Yes, yes, it's all very pretty and charming. Can we just get back to the matter at hand?” Apep huffed as he pushed past the two to take the lead

Seeing the cat in such a foul mood caused Dragon to frown as well “Maybe he’s the one who didn’t get enough sleep last night.”

Stifling his laughter Garm went back to admiring the scenery around him. It brought back memories of his own garden; how he’d care for it even if it was pouring down hard. Amongst all the teasing and name calling the garden was one of, if not the only place he was safe from that kind of abuse. Not only that, the garden wasn’t his treasure alone, the wolf pup shared the beautiful garden with only one other, and that girl was one of the closest Garm held to his heart.

Now that the Garden was reduced to nothing more than a pile of ashes, Garm felt his heart sink. Thanks to his journey, however, Garm was slowly regaining the will to tend to such a place once more. Seeing all the plant life the world had to offer just made Garm all the more excited to restore his treasure to the way it was before.

After contributing a fair amount of time to their trek through the forest the sun had finally come out of its night blanket and began its slow crawl through the sky. By that point the three of Kitsune’s company had already walked a good distance past their original campsite.

“Argh! No more!” Dragon complained as she slumped to the ground “I missed it when i didn’t have to walk everywhere i went.”

Apep turned around and saw Garm waiting on an exhausted Dragon “You are a Celestial can’t you tough it out for a little while longer?”

“Apep, give her a moment.” Garm sighed, also a bit tired from the trek “She’s tired and I’m sure you are too. None of us will be able to fight at our peak if we’re exhausted.”

Apep took Garm’s words into consideration before admitting defeat and choosing to rest against a tree “Fine but we don’t take too long.”

“Garm, be a dear and please fetch me more water.” Dragon handed an empty flask to the wolf pup “I just ran out.”

“While you’re at it refill mine as well.” Apep threw his at Garm, who almost dropped it

“Not a problem, I saw a fresh stream a little while back. I’ll be back shortly.” Garm eagerly took the flasks and was immediately on his way

Sure enough, Garm’s memory served him right as it didn’t take him long to find the stream and refill all three flasks. Rather than waste the water he already gathered Garm bent down to lap water from the passing stream. As he did though something caught his eyes in the distance.

Once Garm’s thirst was quenched he decided to investigate what could giving off such a glint. He could compare the shine to a gem he had seen before but this kind of glint felt different. As Garm peeled back a set of bushes the wolf pup was greeted by the sight of a bed of flower buds that glittered like diamonds under the sun. Garm’s eyes widened as the buds, despite being unbloomed, held such beauty. If they were this beautiful when they were just buds, Garm couldn’t think how radient they would be once their petals had fully opened.

Finally Garm couldn’t hold himself back and set himself to work. Buds were a delicate process of a flower’s development and should not be forced to bloom ahead of time nor should they be disturbed. Using a utility knife ill suited for combat that he stored in his Limiter, Garm began to dig around the roots of a bud. Garm was careful not to sever any roots he came across but instead dug deeper till he could safely remove the bud from the ground. The process itself was meticulous and time consuming, but well worth it in the eyes of the black wolf pup.

Once one was safely removed from the ground, Garm couldn’t help himself but take out one more and then another and another. Garm wanted to have a whole bouquet just for her. Just as Garm was about to take the fifth bud from its resting place a familiar looking dagger whizzed past his face and severed the bud stalk he was about to claim.

Hesitantly Garm traced the trajectory of the bud and found Apep wearing an icy cold glare “This is what you’ve been doing the whole time? Playing gardener!?”

“P-Please Apep, its only been for a little while.” Garm slowly rises to his feet and tries to reason with the lynx cat

“No it isn’t just this.” Apep sternly marched forward slowly closing the gap “From day one I’ve had my doubts about you, and it looks like I’ve been right the whole time.”

“What are you talking about Apep?” Garm unconsciously started backing away from the approaching lynx

“The Celestials recognize that your power is great, for proof look at the Limiter they’ve given you. Its one meant for a Celestial, not a mere mortal.” Apep drew his dagger from the ground and pointed it at Garm who was becoming increasingly panicked by the second “What a waste that it’s being carried a child! You act so carefree, so complacent, like this is some sort of game, like the outcome has no significant impact on our lives.”

“B-But Apep, this is a game. Isn’t it?” Garm had his back against a tree

Garm’s statement was enough to finally push Apep past his breaking point. Angered by Garm, Apep raised his blade and swung downward. Luckily Garm was able to dodge the attack and pull a few blades of grass out from the ground to assume his Thorn Demon Form.

As soon as Garm had changed into his new form Apep continued to strike at Garm with his dagger. The wolf pup was able to dodge the attacks at first, but given the lightweight nature of the dagger Apep’s attacks started to string closer and closer together. Eventually Garm raised his rapier to stalemate Apep’s dagger.

“TO THEM IT IS A GAME!” Apep growled while continuing to apply pressure “Not to us. We’re being given an opportunity to make world changing wishes, granted that we win. WHY AREN’T YOU TAKING THIS MORE SERIOUSLY!? EVEN A CHILD SHOULD KNOW THE GRAVITY OF SUCH A WISH!”

At the mere mention of being called a child Garm felt his eyes furrow with rage. Granted he had been called a child by multiple members of his team, the only difference was the tone Apep said it in. Garm was tragically familiar with Apep’s specific tone, to the point where no matter which voice spoke that tone it always sounded the same. It sounded like they were looking down on him, like they saw little to no value in him and thus, was useless.

“YOU DON’T THINK I KNOW WHAT’S AT STAKE!?” Garm roared back before pushing Apep back “YOU DON’T THINK I WANT THAT WISH AS MUCH AS YOU DO!? I’VE BEEN GIVEN A CHANCE TO PROVE THAT I’M NOT USELESS! A CHANCE TO MAKE AN IMPACT ON SOMEONE’S LIFE!”

Now that Garm was on the offensive it was Apep’s turn to play defensively. Apep’s true effectiveness came from inflicting damage from a far alongside debuffs. When looking at their weapons alone, Garm had the advantage because of the reach of his rapier versus Apep’s dagger. Despite this obvious fact, Apep kept close proximity to Garm parrying his blows where he could a dodging everything else.

Due to being in close proximity to Apep, Garm felt the heat of battle slowly consume him. So much so that it was an odd sensation for his body to suddenly stop moving completely. Unable to function properly Garm collapsed on the ground, desperate to move but unable to do so no matter how much he struggled.

This allowed Apep to stand menacingly over Garm with his dagger gleaming at the ready “Even after, discovering all the power you hold, after all Kitsune has taught you, you’re still just a child.” Before Garm could demand an explanation, a yellow snake slithered past his snout and crawled up Apep’s leg and into his robes “power like yours is a waste!” Apep slashed at Garm’s arms causing him to scream in pain “It should have been me!” a second slash was delivered to his legs “I would’ve made better use of it.” Apep readied his dagger one more time before he kicked Garm over to expose his stomach “With the knowledge and training i had…. I COULD HAVE SAVED MY PEOPLE!”

Apep made one more action to strike at Garm this time directly aimed for his chest. However, before the blade could even make contact with Garm’s chainmail shirt, Dragon’s wooden staff came to intercept the blow. Almost effortlessly Dragon pushed off Apep’s attack and slammed her palm into Apep’s chest forcing him back.

“WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS!?” Dragon roared, her eyes shining emeralds filled with rage

“THAT…. THAT….” Apep struggled more to find his words than he feared the angered Celestial in front of him “CHILD DID NOTHING BUT FROLIC IN THE FLOWER BEDS! HE DOESN’T BELONG ON THE BATTLEFIELD!”

Dragon’s eyes settled from blinding emerald fury when she was reminded about the downed pup “BUT HE IS A CHILD, THERE’S NO REASON WHY YOU SHOULD BE ATTACKING HIM LIKE YOU WERE!” She shifted her attention to Garm who was still paralyzed and badly injured

“THIS MAY NOT MEAN MUCH TO YOU CELESTIALS, BUT THIS GAME IS IMPORTANT TO ME!” Apep continued to match Dragon’s anger and volume with his own “I CANNOT AFFORD TO PUT MY TRUST IN A CHILD OR YOU FOR THAT MATTER!” Without another word Apep turned his back to both Dragon and Garm began sprinting away

“WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU’RE GOING!?” Dragon yelled, as she briefly broke concentration from Garm

“TO FINISH THIS MYSELF!” Apep answered back, leaving Dragon to return all her focus to an injured Garm

The effect while almost immediate, was still slow paced. The wounds Apep managed to inflict were deep cuts, and made it hard for Garm to move even if the paralysis was beginning to wear off.

“Garm don’t move.” Dragon sternly warned the pup as she gently held her hands to catch him should he fall

Despite her warnings Garm attempted to stand, but because of his injuries he kept falling back down every time “I have to catch up to him…” Garm said on the verge of tears from both the pain and the anger he felt pulsating inside him “so I can tell him… that I’m not just a child… that I’m fighting for a purpose too… For that purpose… I’m willing… to do anything to achieve it.”

End of Chapter 6

***

The sun beat down harshly on the land, and as a result there was nothing to be seen but sand for miles and miles away. There were no places to seek refuge from the sun’s harsh rays, which only begged the question why two adventurers would even consider traveling to a place such as this.

“Are you sure we went the right direction?” Pete said fanning himself in his steaming armor

“Sure I’m sure, now quit your complaining and help me look.” Dragon rolled up the scroll they were given and continued to scan the area “In fact we should already be at the city Commander Loki told us to inspect for prospects.”

“Yeah well, I don’t see any cities out here. It's been nothing but sand.” Pete continued to complain, only to be ignored by Dragon

Dragon unfurled the scroll for the nth time. She was sure they were in the right place. She’d kept careful track of all the landmarks they passed as indicated by the scroll, and yet nothing.

Spotting a tall vantage point, Dragon decided to climb atop it to check once more if she got it right, which she knew she did. However, as soon as she reached the top, Dragon had her breath stolen from her as the sight of a ruined city lay before her.

“PETE!” Dragon called in a panic

“Yeah, Yeah, i see it.” Pete said touching down next to her “Poor suckers, probably didn’t even see it coming.”

Without even speaking, the two decided to check out the city and slid down the sand dune. From the looks of it alone Dragon could tell that the city thrived. Several chunks of buildings lay scattered about the sand, home to nothing and wasting away. The sight almost made her now food reliant stomach churn.

As the two Celestials explored the ruined city, they eventually happened upon the Palace at the center, and like everywhere else in the city, was abandoned and broken. Yet, as they explored what looked to be a throne room, Dragon almost didn’t hear it. The distinct sound of sobbing fading away.

“Pete I think I hear something.” Dragon said pushing her ear against the throne

Smirking, Pete pulled Dragon aside and unsheathed his scythe and performed one slash. All of a sudden the throne was rendered into two as the top half slid off the bottom half, crashing into the floor.

“You’re welcome.” Pete said with his arms folded

Rolling her eyes, Dragon peeked inside and found a chamber full of snakes. Weary it could be a trap set by some monster, Dragon had her staff drawn while Pete casually walked in with his arms still folded. The more she walked inside, the more Dragon noticed a cluster of snakes bundling together at the corner of the room. Only when she got closer did she finally notice the cluster of snakes was actually a lynx.
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Re: U&U Valadirian Conquest (VER2)

Post by D-Rock »

One trying to prove himself, the other trying to bring back what was lost.

Rage is a corruptive emotion, isn't it?
Faith doesn't change circumstances. Faith changes me.
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Re: U&U Valadirian Conquest (VER2)

Post by Krytus The Dreamer »

D-Rock wrote:One trying to prove himself, the other trying to bring back what was lost.

Rage is a corruptive emotion, isn't it?
Any righteous cause can be consumed by rage.


Man I'm on fire this week, though i guess its because this was originally supposed to be part of the earlier chapter but it would be a little too long. Anyway here's chapter 07


Chapter 07
Desire

“Please,” Apep begged, his hand still firmly holding on tight “Father don’t leave me here. At the very least let me come with you.”

The much older Lynx cat didn’t even turn around he kept his gaze focused on the opening behind his throne “Son, this is our kingdom and it is my duty to protect it. You are still a prince, so that burden shouldn’t have to fall on your shoulders.”

“Father!” Apep yelled one more time as he was brushed aside

“I promise I will send for you once it is all over until then,” The king Lynx turned around and cast a sorrow filled gaze at his son “survive.”

***

Recent events had caused the memory to resurface as Apep ran. It was an ache in his chest that has never faded away nor has it gotten weaker. It fueled the flames in his heart which yearned to see his kingdom standing proud just as it did only a mere week ago. This was his chance, his one and only chance to see that dream as a reality. There was absolutely no way that he could entrust such an incredibly important goal to four Celestial Beings with no sense of urgency whatsoever, or a puppy who has yet to see the world for what it truly is.

Such a task could only be handled personally. So, Apep had steeled himself for battle. No one could be entrusted, not a single member in his group. No matter what monster stood in his way, what menial task the commander would give him, Apep had resolved to do it all. For the good of his kingdom.

“You’re incredibly early! Where are Garm and Dragon?” Apep came to a halt as Kitsune’s voice echoed throughout the forest

Instantly going on the defensive, Apep drew his dagger and scanned the area for Kitsune “They were slowing me down, I decided to move on ahead if you don’t mind.”

“Actually,” Apep’s ears swiveled to the sound of Kitsune dropping to the ground directly behind him “I do mind.”

When Apep turned to face his so called ‘Chief’ something felt instantly off. His demeanor had gone through a complete reversal, and became cold, instead of laid back and welcoming.The way Kitsune carried himself looked much stricter, even stricter than when he was coaching both him and Garm. Though, out of all the differences, the biggest one to stand out was his eyes. The way it seemed to glare at him through a half lidded position just sent danger signals to Apep’s instincts.

“The way I see it is, I’m not a strict Chief.” Kitsune circled Apep looking as calm as ever “You can argue and bicker amongst yourselves. It’s not my place to interfere with anything and the resulting chaos usually brings about a closer team. Take Pete and Vidar for example; Vidar hated Pete, but now, after their little skirmish together, he has this air of respect for the annoying griffon.”

Apep kept his senses keen for any signs of aggression but found none. It was obvious Kitsune knew, his choice of words gave it away. Even if it was complete coincidence, Kitsune’s eyes would allow him to see his team members no matter where he was. It was only a matter of time before Kitsune would act, but for now Apep played it cool only choosing to rest his hand on the handle of his dagger.

“There is, however, a line. All that bickering and arguing may be annoying, but its natural, in time we can learn to get over each other’s ego and work together as a team. When that bickering becomes more aggressive and puts the mission at jeopardy, then there’s bringing physical harm to those who would stand at your side, that’s where the line stands.” Kitsune too had his hands resting on the handles of his daggers, and Apep took careful notice “Tell me; did you cross that line Apep?”

As if on cue both opponents drew their daggers and clashed exactly at the same time. Just as Apep had predicted, Kitsune knew about what transpired moments ago, and was furious. Except it was a stark contrast to Garm’s fury. Where the pup’s was more of a raging flame, Kitsune’s was more of a howling blizzard accentuated by his increasingly cold glare.

Kitsune moved in a completely different manner. When he coached both him and Garm, Kitsune’s movements were more predictable. The nine tailed trickster would leave daggers near him and translocate to their position to get a surprise attack in. However, this time his movements were sharper, less predictable and pushed into a combo for Kitsune to land in more hits.

The difference in their abilities were apparent, and Apep knew his only advantage was his snake familiars. The problem being, that his snake familiars were slow. Too slow to catch up with Kitsune giving his all into a battle. His only real way of administering the poison was to do it himself or lure Kitsune into a trap. Kitsune was already wise to Apep’s favored tactics and the lynx knew that was already the case. He needed time; time to formulate a strategy and think his way through the problem.

“Why do you attack me Chief?” Apep asked once Kitsune had melted into the shadows “I was only doing as i saw fit to benefit the mission. You understand don’t you?”

From the shadows Kitsune attacked, daggers clashed before Kitsune disappeared again “Don’t you dare try to use the mission as an excuse.” This time Kitsune dropped down from above; if it wasn’t for his quick thinking and reflexes Apep would’ve been pinned but when he turned around for a counter attack, Kitsune was gone “Garm is a child, he didn’t know any better. Cut him some slack.”

“That’s exactly my point, Garm is a child. He doesn’t belong on the battlefield, he simply isn’t ready.” Apep snarled, still unable to discern where Kitsune was hiding

“He has just as much a right to be here as you.” Kitsune answered coldly “Any mortal we deem worthy has the right to fight for their own wishes. You have no right to question his resolve.”

It was clear that Apep was no match for Kitsune. Not while he had the advantage of the forest to hide in. If anything was certain it would be that Apep was Kitsune’s target, and would always rush into him only to disappear in less than an instant. There was no way Apep could hold him in place long enough for his snake familiar to do their job. In this situation there was only one thing he could do to combat Kitsune’s tactics.

Once Apep had his nerves steeled, Apep made a break towards the direction of the golem. Kitsune’s advantage was the darkness of the forest, Apep had to take that away from the trickster by luring him out to the open. Apep had to finish the mission on his own, the others only slowed him down.

“Apep, come back here!” Kitsune demanded as his voice continued to follow him

Apep knew Kitsune would try to stop him from engaging the golem on his own, so his senses were alert to Kitsune’s attacks. The moment Apep heard a twig snap, he performed a roll and avoided Kitsune’s lunge. As the fox gave pursuit, Apep lowered his sleeves and allowed his familiars to slither out and hinder his pursuer. He wasn’t expecting them to get any hits in, they were far too slow. However, he had hoped they would slow Kitsune down from his pursuit and for the most part it looked like it was working.

Eventually, Apep broke through the barrier of trees and managed to make it to the ravine Kitsune had assigned to them. Knowing full well Kitsune wasn’t too far behind him, Apep didn’t slow down as he located the position of the golem which was directly below the drop off of the cliff. Without a shred of hesitation Apep made a leap off the cliff positioning himself to land directly on the golem’s head.

As he continued to fall however he felt Kitsune grab onto him determined to get him to wait for everyone else. This was the moment Apep had been waiting for, while Kitsune had his hands on his robes, Apep latched onto Kitsune’s hands in turn. Kitsune came to the realization a little too late as a snake slithered from his arm and sank its venom into Kitsune’s wrist. Now weakened, Apep kicked Kitsune off and used the momentum to propel himself faster onto the golem’s head. After a rough landing into a roll, Apep raised his dagger high and jammed it into its gemstone eye. The stone statue came to life as a result of the pain administered to its eye. Now that it was awakened it attempted to shake Apep off violently. Because of Apep’s dagger jammed into its eye the lynx was able to hang on tight.

Out of the corner of his eye, Kitsune continued to fall frozen stiff due to the poison coursing through his veins. That all changed, however, as a ray of light barely came into contact with Kitsune’s body, snapping him out of his stupor and allowing him to land without a problem.

“LOOKS LIKE YOU’VE BEEN TAKING NOTES SHARPSHOOTER!” Pete’s voice sounded off with the slightest hints of pride as he slowly closed the gap between himself and the golem “Now, look alive! This thing isn’t gonna go down without a fight!”

With his scythe at the ready, Pete stamped his foot on the ground and sent himself flying in an arc to engage with the golem. After giving his scythe a spin Pete managed to land a long streak across its chest before kicking off and keeping airborne with a few beats of his wings.

Keeping in mind that the golem didn’t have standard biological functions for his venom to do its work, Apep instead let a different breed of snakes slither out his sleeves. Rather than administer paralyzing venom to its victims, that kind of snake’s acid was known to be corrosive to non organic objects. With a silent command Apep had the snake slither into the cavity Pete created and spit out as much venom as it could.

Now with more pressure being applied to it the golem was now up at full alertness. The first thing it did was grab Apep and begin to squeeze the life out of him. While at the mercy of the stone golem, Apep felt the air in his lungs forced out as the pressure continued to crush his body.

Before any more damage could be administered Apep felt a wave of energy rush into him giving him the strength to resist for a little bit longer. Following up on the wave of energy, Pete dove in and using his scythe was able to sever the golem’s hand off, freeing Apep from the death grip.

“I got him!” came Vidar’s cries before Apep felt himself come to a sudden stop in the white wolf’s arms

“Keep an eye on him Vidar.” Kitsune said sternly before rushing back into battle “I’m still not done talking to him.”

Vidar nodded and drew an arrow “Understood, now take one for the road.”

Vidar loosed the arrow, allowing it to fly into Kitsune instantly reenergizing him. Now sporting a certain glow about him, Kitsune drew two of his daggers and charged back into battle.

Apep, grit his fangs out of frustration. This couldn’t be happening to him. He shouldn’t have to rely on his team, much more rely on them to rescue him. They didn’t take any of this as seriously as he did, so it baffled him how they’re able to stand up to the golem and not be instantly wiped out like he was. How could anyone who treats the situation like a game last far longer than he did?

Pete crashed into the ground near them after being swatted from the sky “WHERE THE HECK IS OUR HEALER!?”

“SHE’S ON HER WAY,” Kitsune yelled as he appeared on the top of the cliff “UNTIL THEN REGROUP, VIDAR CONTINUE DOING POKE DAMAGE!”

“IF YOU SAY SO!” Vidar responded as he continued to string and loose arrows

Apep didn’t need them, he didn’t need anyone to accomplish the mission. He could do it himself and this was his moment to prove it. With his dagger pulled out and at the ready, Apep knocked Vidar off his feet, to prevent him from interfering. Now that the way was clear Apep made a desperate charge towards the stone golem.

“APEP DON’T DO IT!” Vidar yelled from his downed position

Despite Vidar’s pleading, Apep continued to charge the golem in a crazed manner. After ducking under its wide arced swing Apep let an entire nest of snakes out from his sleeves to spit their corrosive acid at its legs. Of course the acid did its work weakening the golem but the progress was far too slow and allowed the golem to swing in a counter attack at Apep.

Due to being in such close proximity to the golem, Apep had very little time to react to the incoming attack and was easily knocked away. After slamming into the cliff wall Apep felt all the air rush out of him a second time as the golem continued its approach to finish the job. There was nothing he could do; his snakes weren’t a big enough nuisance to distract the golem, and Pete, Vidar and Kitsune weren’t close enough to interfere on his behalf. Apep was left with no choice but to accept his defeat.

The golem made its final swing, but as its fist closed in on Apep the wall behind him began to tremble. Before the fist could make contact, three vines erupted from the cliff behind Apep halting the golem in its tracks. Dumbfounded by the last minute save, Apep failed to notice Garm coming in fast and snatching Apep off the ground. The wolf pup strained himself to get the lynx cat away from danger only being able to slightly carry Apep, but it was enough to get him to safety before the vines gave way.

“Took you two long enough.” Pete sighed as he was being healed by Dragon

Dragon’s eye twitched at the mention of taking too long “In our defense, Apep was the one who caused the delays.”

“Guys, that thing’s coming this way!” Vidar said in a panic

“Alright everyone,” Kitsune announced calmly as he marched ahead of the group “looks like we got off to a rocky start, but we can still turn this around. Vidar I need offensive and defensive boosts.”

“Right.” Vidar said notching an arrow to buff Kitsune

“Dragon, how much longer till Pete can rejoin the battle?” Kitsune recalled two daggers to his hands

“Two minutes.” she responded sternly

“Good. Garm on me. Let’s give that thing something to hit.” Kitsune ran straight toward the golem

“I’ve got your back Chief.” Garm said as his thorn demon form wilted away

Now back to his base form, Garm held his hands together and concentrated. Not a moment later a small spark ignited in his hands before erupting into a raging inferno that fully consumed him. Garm stepped out of the blaze with flames serving as armor and armed with a spear before rushing in after Kitsune.

He hated to admit it, he absolutely wished that he didn’t have to come to terms with it. It pained the lynx cat to admit that he needed his team. Alone he couldn’t have ever hoped to stand up to the golem but with the support of his team, he had a chance. They may not take the game seriously, but this was his only team and for the time being they’d have to do to support him.

As soon as the duo came into the golem’s range the immediately spit in two different directions as it slammed its fist into the ground. Skidding to a halt after his sudden jump, Garm slashed at the air in front of him creating a wave of heat the flew straight into the stone golem. Kitsune saw the golem switch its focus towards Garm and made full use of it to scale the stone statue making small slashes as he passed by. Eventually Kitsune reached the other unscratched eye and planted his dagger into it. After receiving a boost from Vidar, Garm rushed in and was able to sever the other Golem’s hand rendering it unable to easily counter attack.

“MAKE WAY NERDS I’M COMIN IN HOT!” Pete roared as he made soared into the sky before pulling into a dive bomb

Now, with the addition of Pete there were three forces dealing damage to the Golem. That once towering threat was slowly being whittled away to the point where it no longer looked fair. Gone were its strong arms to counter attack and attack with, gone was its lovely gemstone eyes. Pete, Garm and Kitsune working together with the support of Dragon and Vidar were able to make quick work of the golem. Chipping away stone parts till all that was left was the torso of the monster.

“NOW GARM FINISH IT OFF!” Kitsune instructed as soon as the torso crashed into the ground

Garm backed off from the frontlines to increase distance just in case it tried to pull anything and stamped his flaming spear into the ground. Soon a circle of flames and strange symbols wrote itself into the ground before flaming chains shot from the ground to ensnare whatever was left of the stone golem. As soon as the golem was properly bound Garm pulled the spear from the ground and held it at the ready.

“DEMON OF UNSHAKEABLE STONE, SUBMIT TO MY WILL AND MAKE YOUR STRENGTH MINE TO COMMAND!” Garm announced proudly before giving his spear a spin and hurling it at the center of the golem

The moment the spear pierced the center of the golem, flames began to consume it as the chains detached from the circle and wrapped around the demon. Once the raging inferno died down, Garm slammed his fist into the ground and pulled out a stone axe as nearby rock and stone began to gather on Garm’s body to serve as armor.

Now that the battle was wrapped up, everyone gave a brief sigh of relief. All except for Apep who felt three pairs of eyes fall on him. He could probably tell what their intentions of staring at him was but he’d rather not find out.

***

“Disobeying your leader, attacking a key member of your team, running off on your own, is there anything else you’d like to add to the case?” Loki’s stare was similar to Kitsune’s and portrayed a cold fury as opposed to Garm’s inferno

Apep sat alone, but did not show weakness to his commander. He did disobey orders, act on his own will, and was a detriment to his team, and he would take full responsibility for it. It was how he was taught afterall.

“Yes Commander Loki.” Apep said calmly

Loki sighed as he scratched his head “Is there anything you’d like to say in your defense?”

“No Commander Loki.” Apep replied in the same calm manner

Before Loki could continue Garm abruptly burst into the War Room “Commander Loki! I would like to say something in his defense!”

“There is no need young pup.” Loki sighed “Apep will be~”

Garm interrupted Loki “Please, Apep may have acted out of line, but so did I. I drove him to anger, I was the cause for all this. If anyone should be punished it should be~”

“ENOUGH!” Loki boomed before settling back down “Apep will not be severely punished and neither will you. In the grand scheme of things it was only a setback and it was only during training missions. Apep will be let off with a warning only, should this ever happen again he will have his avatar status revoked. Is that clear?”

“Yes Commander Loki.” Apep lowered his head in gratitude

“Now off with the two of you.” Loki said with a wave of his hand “Kitsune has already been briefed on where your team will be headed next, and you know how I am with repeating myself. You are to prepare and leave as soon as you are able.”

“Yes Commander Loki.” Both Apep and Garm said as they both left the room

All things considered Apep got off easy. In the heat of the moment, Apep had failed to consider that acting out of line could’ve and would’ve cost him the only chance he had. From this point forward, Apep would have to be more careful when it came to following the rules.

“Apep.” Garm suddenly said causing the two to come to a halt

Apep took a deep breath and exhaled “When I attacked you during the mission, I apologize, I stepped out of line and shouldn’t have done that.”

“I don’t care about that.” Garm said sternly “I just want you to know that I’m fighting for a purpose too. Its something important to me, so important that I’d be willing to stake my life on it. I’d do anything for that wish, to prove I’m not useless. You’re like that too aren’t you? You’d do anything for that wish.”

Apep paused. The tone of the wolf pup’s voice was as serious as it has ever been, but it was the eyes that gave it away. It was similar to the inferno of rage that was once directed at him, except it was more focused into something. It was pure, raw desire. The pup was determined to get that wish, not only did his words sound but so did his body language.

“But I can’t do it alone.” Garm extended his hand “I’m going to be selfish as ask for everyone’s help. Is that alright?”

For the second time Apep paused briefly before chuckling “I like that; it at least gives me confidence that I’m not the only one who takes this seriously.”

“Then we do this together?” Garm continued to hold his hand extended

“Alright little wolf,” Apep grabbed onto his hand and shook it “we mortals must stick together after all.”

End of Chapter 07

Garm steadied his breath as he kept his eyes fixated on the door in front of him. It has been a while since he’s finally been allowed to return home, and sure enough she was probably worried sick. He wanted to take a step forward, open the door and reveal himself to be just perfectly fine. He wanted to tell her about all his new friends and adventures, how he wasn’t worthless after all.

Just as Garm found a semblance of courage to open the door Tyr’s words echoed in his head ‘There is something urgent you must know. No one must know about your connection to us Celestials. Trust me when I say it’s for the best. Alright?’

Remembering these words alone made Garm’s heart sink. He wanted to tell her what he was capable of, how much of a warrior he’s become. Especially since he’d have to leave her again soon. With a shake of his head Garm reasserted his courage. He’s already made her worry enough.

“L-Lady Helena?” Garm stuttered as he slowly urged the door open

Before Garm could even open the door to its full extent a pair of arms pulled him in “GARM! Thank the gods, you’re alive.” the feminine pair of arms let the black wolf pup breathe as her emerald eyes stared into crimson “Where have you been? Are you alright? Tell me everything.”

“Lady Helena, you’re up?” Garm tried to support Helena on her way back to her bed

She laughed as she accepted the help Garm offered “I’ve been feeling better, but that doesn’t answer all of my questions.”

After Garm made sure Helena made it safely to her Bed he proceeded to tuck her in “I… I tried to save our garden… but I couldn’t… I’m sorry.”

“Oh Garm,” she said with a sigh “our garden can be grown back. What matters is that you made it home to me.”

“Speaking of which, while I was out i managed to find these unbloomed buds. We can start our garden over again.” Garm subtly reached into his limiter and pulled out a white diamond bud waiting to blossom into a majestic flower

“It looks wonderful.” Helena accepted the flower with two hands “I can’t wait to see it in season.” as Helena set the collection of buds on her nightstand she decided to steer the conversation in a different direction “So, Garm, you were there when the fire demon attacked; were you able to see him?”

“Him?” Garm replied in confusion

Helena shot her wolf pup an equally confused look “Don't tell me you haven't heard the stories. The ones about the Wolf Bound in Chains, The Marsh Dweller, Fenris Wolf?”

It didn’t take long for Garm to realize that she was talking about him. A sudden giddiness overwhelmed Garm as he couldn’t wait to share all the details of his newfound powers.

‘Trust me when I say it’s for the best.’ Tyr’s words continued to echo in Garm’s head

However an idea lit up in Garm’s mind. The people he shares the details of his adventures don’t have to know it was him.

“Of course I have Lady Helena.” Garm said huffing out his chest with pride “In fact I am his bard.”
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Re: U&U Valadirian Conquest (VER2)

Post by D-Rock »

Yeah, dude got off surprisingly easy. Let's hope that things go much more smoothly from this point on.

And now we got the superhero identity trope in play. :lol:
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Re: U&U Valadirian Conquest (VER2)

Post by Krytus The Dreamer »

I'm finally getting my rhythm back so please enjoy this new chapter and I always appreciate any feedback

Chapter 08
Eternally Bound

The fire's dancing light painted the wooden walls in a perfectly balanced mixture of red and orange and spread warmth to the pups who gathered around a wolf den mother whose dark fur managed to provide an excellent canvas for the colors to paint themselves across. Her smile radiated a warmth only a mother could give, for she knew that today was the day, and she couldn't be any more excited for her litter.

The litter was comprised of six pups some of them having patterns of white or gray fur, no doubt coming from their father, but the sixth and youngest out of them all had pure black fur just like his mother. All of them are undoubtedly still considered pups. They were nowhere near their juvenile stage and as such they were playful, and energetic. The elder three passed the time by wrestling and the younger three had resorted to chasing each other around.

The youngest pup was of course the smallest out of the group, in fact he was unusually small even for a little pup. Some had stated that because of his size he wasn’t going to amount to anything in his entire life. There was no point in putting up for display. He had heard all of these whispers directed at him, but his mother had assured him these were no more than whispers and couldn’t be farther from the truth.

“Come now pups,” she beckoned them closer “gather 'round. It’s time you knew why we celebrate this event.”

“But mom, we already know the story.” complained a wolf pup

She laughed sincerely “Yes I know but please indulge your mother one last time.” to this all pups looked at each other and shrugged

“I want to hear it again!” came the smallest pup

“Of course you would,” came the eldest “You're still a pup, and pups love stories.” the other pups laughed but the youngest seemed to take it in stride

The mother wolf smiled as she proceeded to pull out a small aged book the size of her hands and turned to the page with the story she had in mind.

***

Once upon a time there was a great hunter who took down many a beast to add to his fame and glory. He was known across the land as the greatest hunter who had ever lived, untouched by fear nor by uncertainty. His name rattled the bones of monsters for fear of being killed a second time and brought glory to his clan. The Great Einar Sune.

They say his prowess with the sword was great enough to fell a mighty oak tree in one swing. His bow skills precise enough to pierce an arrow thrice through the center of his target three times in a row. His courage was enough to stare down death himself and not flinch even in the slightest.

He was so great a hero, that whispers have been saying that Einar was responsible to allowing the tribes of midgard flourish despite the monsters that plagued it constantly through the night. Many a village had come to him seeking his aid and he dared not to refuse a single one for the thrill of the hunt was to great for him.

One day; tell of a creature so deadly that it had dispatched an entire village in a matter of minutes, had reached the great Einar's ears. He was exhilarated, for he had not faced such a challenge in such a long while. After all his experience hunting monsters and demons, challenge seemed to have become a rare commodity. A fire burning deep in his heart The Great Einar Sune immediately left as soon as preparations had been made.

Hearsay had placed the beast on the southern side of the land, where the four winds of the globe gathered in eternal conflict on a mountain trapped in perpetual storms. A place known as Storm-Wind Peaks.

The journey would take months from his respective village, but that did not deter The Great Einar; he faced the challenge head on, welcoming it with arms wide. He knew what he was getting himself into, he knew what dangers awaited him but what he didn't expect was a companion following him throughout his journey.

A juvenile red fox had caught scent of Einar's rations and his hunger told him to follow the strange human man. At first the human ignored the fox, thinking that it was another animal that wasn't worth his hunting prowess, but as time moved on the fox continued to follow him faithfully through his journey.

Eventually Einar decided enough was enough “Young kit, why are you following me?”

“I'm sorry. I was just so hungry.” came the fox's answer

Taking pity on the poor creature the hunter broke off a portion of his rations and tossed it to the fox. Grateful for the meal the fox bowed his head and scurried off into the woods. Now with his mind focused Einar continued on his way.

However it wasn't long before Einar noticed the fox tailing him again, this time, under the veil of moonlight “I already fed you young kit, what is it that you want now?” he asked again

“I got lost and I don't know the way back to my den.” the fox gave the hunter a sheepish smile “May I stay with you?”

Once again Einar complied and decided he was to set up camp for the night. He didn't know if it was out of pity or if the fox was starting to grow on him but either way there was no harm to it, so the fox stayed. This delighted the fox as he curled around the hunter's armored body without hesitation. At first the hunter wanted to remove the fox but stopped once he heard the fox already drifting to sleep. From there it wasn't long before Einar found himself sleeping as well.

After days and days of travel Einar finally found himself at the eternally stormy mountain and was more than eager to begin his search if it weren't for his companion. Hunting was by no means a leisurely pass time. It involved grit, instinct, and cunning. If one was lacking in even one of these qualities they wouldn’t survive long. After their time spent together the great Einar couldn’t bare to see the little fox get injured.

“Young kit,” the hunter began “I have been tolerant but here is where my kindness ends. It is far too dangerous for you to follow me this time. You must remain here.”

The fox's ears fell in disappointment “I understand. Please be safe.”

Thus the search began and proceeded to go on for days without a single sign of the beast's appearance. Only when he had finally reached the peak did he find what he had been searching for, the monster's den.

The great Einar entered the den keeping his wits about himself. After all he himself had gone through the procedure multiple times. He wasn't going to falter now. Once he had reached the deepest part of the den the hunter saw it. A beast with wings large enough to blackout the sky, rows of plated armor that protected its body, teeth sharp enough to tear through cattle easily, its crimson red eyes focused solely on him.

There was no doubt about it the Einar was faced to face with the Storm-Wind Wyvern, destroyer of villages and breather of hell fire. This was it, this was the challenge The Great Einar Sune had been waiting for. With his smile widened, and his sword drawn the hunter met the Wyvern in battle.

Some say the two clashed for three nights, others say a week, that much isn't clear, but one thing was clear, near the end of the battle the hunter had fallen to his knees drained of his legendary strength. As the beast raised its talons to deliver the final blow, a familiar fox had shown up and latched himself to the wyvern's face obscuring its sight. It tried to shake the fox off, even tried to ram its head into a nearby wall, but nothing could get the fox to let go.

Einar saw his opportunity and took it. He raised his sword and dealt the final blow to the wyvern's dented armor. Defeated the wyvern could only toss the fox aside at a nearby wall before collapsing on the cave floor. Weakened and tired the hunter set himself down next to the injured fox.

“Why have you come to my aid young kit?” a tired Einar asked

The fox smiled genuinely “You have been so kind to me I only wanted to return the favor.”

The hunter returned the smile with the same amount of sincerity, for he knew he had made a life long friend that day. Einar's smile was short lived for his injuries started to act on him. Seeing this the fox immediately left the cave, even though his quickest pace came in the form of a limp.

It wasn't long before the fox returned with a handful of berries “This mountain is unbelievably infertile, these were the best I could find.” he pushed all of the berries to the hunter

“I thank you young kit,” he accepted the berries but left an equal amount in the fox's hands “but these are yours as well.”

The fox's stomach rumbled as he was about to deny the berries, and instead the two companions ate the berries in relative silence. Thunders roared, rains poured, help certainly didn't look like it was going to come anytime soon.

“Young kit,” Einar finally broke the silence “go on, head home. Leave me behind.”

“I... I can't leave you behind.” the fox was on the verge of tears

The hunter ruffled the fox's head fur “It'll be alright. Live your life.”

“Not without you.” the fox said determined as he tried to lift the hunter's weight himself “We will make it out together.”

However the fox wasn't strong enough and only managed to bring the hunter to the entrance of the cave before collapsing. Since the battle had shaken the cave it didn't surprise the two companions that a small rock had been knocked loose and had fallen down to them. What did surprise them however was when they reached for it the stone split in two complete and utter silence filled the cave.

Unlike moments ago, this silence was absolute. There was no crescendo of rain as it fell to earth, no brilliant flash of lightning that announced thunder’s arrival. Everything had gone completely silenced, meaning the eternally stormy mountain had its first tranquil moment since time had began.

From the split stone a radiant light began to emanate. Clearly this was not lightning since no thunder came. It was more gentle, more regal, more celestial. The source of the gentle light was a bearded human warrior wielding a magnificent golden spear and an eyepatch that covered an injured eye.

“Greetings,” came a voice that spoke volumes of power for the owner “your journey has peaked my curiosity and led me to bare witness to your bond.” Einar and the fox had to make sure they weren't dreaming, where had this voice come from?

“And I have to say that I am touched by your kinship. It had been some time since I've seen a bond so deep. I am Odin, the all father and I bestow upon you these Soul Stones as proof of your bond and as a monument to such a bond I have quelled the eternal storm that has ravaged this mountain for decades. Locate a nearby marsh and lay the foundations for a village. I have no doubt that it will flourish and prosper under the guidance of your bond. Rest easy knowing that I will make sure that you will survive this ordeal as soon as you wake up.”

With a snap of his fingers, the mighty Odin had put the fox and Einar to sleep only to wake up at the base of the no longer stormy mountain. The scars from their battle had remained intact but they were no longer a burden to the two. It was almost as if it had been a dream. However, it was painfully obvious it wasn’t aside from the no longer stormy mountain, the pair still had their Souls Stones.



“Do you have a name?” the hunter asked the fox curiously

“No,” he replied simply “I have no memories of anything. All i know is I woke up one day and nothing else. I do not remember who birthed me or anything from my past.”

The hunter slapped the Fox’s back and gave him a warm smile “But you have a future here, and we shall build it together. Are you with me Kit?”

“Always my friend.” he replied with the same smile

***

… The end,” said the mother wolf as she closed the book “Now this story had been passed down for generations not only because it is engaging to listen to, but because it is what started this special celebration, in order to honor such a kinship as well as celebrate our founder’s most cherished belief: That we midgardians stand taller together.”

The small wolf pup’s eyes lit up at the message he had been given by his mother. He had no idea why, but he found a certain charm to it. The idea being part of a group, working together to accomplish a shared goal, the wolf pup wanted to be part of it all. He wanted to be just like the great fox, the first companion to a human.

The mother wolf clutched a stone that hung around her neck as it slowly turned blue “Whenever a villager has reached a certain age they are to choose from the four houses presented to them; Canine, Feline, Equine and Avian. Which are further divided into rooms like the lynx commons, the horse stables, the hawk aviary, the fox commons and many others. We of course are of the wolf commons, and when you are chosen by the villager you are to be their friend, their companion~”

The mother wolf's story had been cut off as a knock sounded from the wooden door “We will be with you in a while,” she composed herself and turned to her pups “That's the chieftain's daughter, quick pups in line.”

Doing as his mother had instructed the small wolf pup fell in line along with his other brothers and sisters. As he fell in line, the wolf pup made sure to stand on his toes, puff up his chest, everything he could do to make himself look worthy. It wasn’t as effective as he had hoped but he still had to try. He wanted to be chosen more than anyone else in the room.

Once the mother deemed her pups ready, she opened the door and let a girl walk in. Unlike most of the humans he had seen before this girl looked different. She wasn’t as healthy looking or as tall. The girl who stood at the door was gentle with long flowing hair and gentle emerald eyes.

Silence permeated the air as the smallest wolf pup dared not to look her in the eyes. The girl walked down the line up of wolf pups going from the eldest to the youngest. As she drew closer and closer, the wolf pup slowly began to lose his grip on himself. Fears of being rejected or laughed at began to sink into his mind. So that he would not panic the youngest wolf pup shut his eyes and began hoping that he’d be the one picked

“This one,” she announced happily to the room “I want this one. You and I will reach great heights together.”

The wolf pup opened his eyes and found the girl pointing directly at him. Shock began to set it, almost as if he didn’t believe it. From all the whispers he had been hearing, he was sure he would’ve gotten overlooked.

“You heard her,” cooed the mother wolf happily as she egged the pup closer “do not be shy.”

The wolf pup hesitated at first, but one more look at the girl’s smile was all the reassurance he needed. He was going to protect her, no matter the cost, no matter what would happen to him. This girl was his duty and there was nothing he wouldn’t do for her.

“Goodbye my son,” waved the small wolf pup’s mother as she cried tears of joy “be good.”

***

The girl the young wolf pup was clinging to lead the way through the canine house. After passing through the different commons with their own fresh litters waiting to be chosen from the girl managed to lead the wolf pup outside the Canine House and into a cheering village all huddled around a stone pillar.

“Ah! My dear daughter, Helena, returns from the Canine House!” a gruff looking man fully armored and battle ready gestured to the wolf pup’s new partner “Step aside to reveal your partner and announce the name to us!”

Helena turned around and knelt in front of Garm cupping his muzzle in her hands “Don’t be afraid. I’ll be by your side.” After receiving a nod of confirmation from the pup she stood up and stepped to the side “This is the companion of my choice! Garm!”

After Helena had revealed her partner to the village the cheery and active atmosphere fell dead silent. Almost immediately their gaze focused solely on Garm who only stood there was received the full force of everyone’s disapproval. Out of the crowd a panther stormed headed directly toward Garm as he lifted the pup unceremoniously and carried him off to a secluded area away from the ceremony and away from any bystanders. The only thing Helena could do was to plead with the panther not to hurt Garm which only fell on deaf ears.

“Did you bribe her!?” the panther snarled slammed Garm against a wooden house, his eyes gleaming with anger “Did you trick her into picking you?” The wolf pup could only whimper out of pain “Lady Helena should not have chosen such a weak partner, you disgrace the name of the Canine house and the Wolf commons.”

“SVERRIR PLEASE STOP!” Helena yelled once more as she attempted to pull the panther away from Garm

Sverrir complied and threw the pup to the floor to which Helena immediately moved to protect “Lady Helena why choose this weakling? Choose from my litter in the Panther Commons my eldest is strong enough to protect you should the need arise.”

“No! I will not settle for anybody else!” She announced proudly “I have made my choice!”

“But why!?” Sverrir begged for an answer

Helena, despite being much smaller than Sverrir stood up to the panther “Because! All my life I’ve been sheltered treated as if I’m something to protect. I want a companion I can stand equal to, someone I can fight side by side on equal footing. I am tired of being protected, so I chose someone who is in the is in the same position as i am. Together we’ll break the mold that destiny has chosen for us!”

“That’s preposterous!” the panther scoffed “You have nothing to prove. What matters most is your safety! THAT’S SOMETHING THAT CANNOT BE ACCOMPLISHED BY THIS CHILD!”

Garm felt the world blurr around him. That tone in the panther’s voice had struck something within him. He hadn’t done anything yet, he hasn’t been given the chance to prove if he was worthy or not. The first thing that he was met with was instant rejection and denial when one person saw something different in him. Garm hated the tone the panther used and it spurred his body to act despite the pain its already suffered through.

“How can you say that?” Garm said while shakily trying to stand

“Garm, please don’t.” Helena pleaded, but Garm stood tall

The panther raised a brow “come again runt?”

The tone the panther used managed to linger in his voice causing Garm to snarl “How can you say that!?” he roared “I’ve done nothing yet! I haven’t even been given a chance yet! LADY HELENA CHOSE ME AND I WILL LAY DOWN MY LIFE TO PROTECT HER!”

For some reason despite being much larger than the pup, the panther backed away. Garm had not see such an expression before, but he could tell it was a polar opposite to what the panther looked like not too long ago. However, before anything else could happen, a pillar of light coming from the Companion Houses shot into the sky. Not long after two stones of shifting color gently floated down from the sky beckoning Helena and Garm to reach out to the two stones.

The moment they made contact with the stones their colors seemed to solidify into one distinct color for the two of them. For Helena the stone had taken on a compassionate yet determined shade of green. For Garm the stone looked as if it had caught fire as the stone settled onto a flaming crimson shade.

The mere presentation of the stone to the pair in front of him had caused the panther the bite his lips in frustration “It appears that Odin has spoken.”

***

Unbeknownst to the trio a lone figure watches from afar. A smile slowly forming on his face. For a moment, he felt something stir within the wolf pup; something powerful. The grin on his face slowly deepened. This was exactly what he needed and things could not be more perfect. By the time the game starts the pup will be barely old enough to be out on his own, just barely but good enough.

“It appears that I’ve found my avatar, brother.” The lone figure walked away, his eyes seeming to hold a galaxy in them “and he will be responsible for your defeat father”

End of Chapter 08

“Pssst!”

Garm’s eyes crumpled at the sound of someone beckoning to him in a whisper “Garm! Hey Garm!”

Finally having enough, Garm slowly rose from his sleeping position at the foot of the bed. He gave his body a stretch and as a result it let out satisfying pops and creaks. It has been a while since he’s fallen asleep in his own home and it was worth waiting for.

“Garm!” Kitsune hung from the window still whispering to Garm “C’mon let’s go! We can’t spend the night here, Commander Loki’s sending us on another mission to the south!”

Garm felt his heart sink. He’s only been with her for a little bit and he hated to leave her so soon. Still, he understood the importance of doing as he was told. All of this was for her after all. It will all be worth it should he win the game for her, his companion.

As quietly as he could, Garm planted a gentle kiss on her forehead “Farewell Lady Helena. I will see you soon.”

Without waking her up, Garm ran out her room and out his home. Soon Garm had reunited with his team as they mounted their stone horses and left for the south.
D-Rock wrote:Yeah, dude got off surprisingly easy. Let's hope that things go much more smoothly from this point on.

And now we got the superhero identity trope in play. :lol:
Speaking of superhero identity trope, this was technically an origin story
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Re: U&U Valadirian Conquest (VER2)

Post by ChekeBello »

I sure miss a lot on this!! Good part? Got a lot to read XD

That was a pretty big party conflict, didn't expected someone like that this soon, but really liked to learn more about Apep I like him more and, even it was for his own reasons, he learnt that he needs this team; not sure if I trust his bonding with Garm yet, tho

They keep feeding Garm early game to he can carry them late? He is turning into power house for sure ñ_ñ

Was an interesting back story for Garm and his culture, I wonder why we learnt it right know; seem like this could fit at any place really; so for it to be told now, i'm expecting something related happens soon! Hardly can wait!
D-Rock wrote:And now we got the superhero identity trope in play. :lol:
Being the hero and the hero's media-man explode even on Peter Parker's face sometimes, Garm is surely getting himself in a lot of problems with this xD
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Re: U&U Valadirian Conquest (VER2)

Post by D-Rock »

Lore within lore. Love those kinds of moments. Garm is a determined fellow, it should help carry him on.
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