U&U: Valadirian Conquest

What do you call a fic that's not a fic

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Krytus The Dreamer
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U&U: Valadirian Conquest

Post by Krytus The Dreamer »

I don't have a chapter up yet but i do have a bunch of art to post onto it so enjoy snippets of what's to come for this fic

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Cover was inspired by the song we are ignited by natewantstobattle
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It's the only way to fast travel!
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that generic anime segment where they explain all the things
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SHOT THROUGH THE HEART AND YOU'RE TO BLAME, YOU GIVE LOVE A BAD NAME! *begins playing facemelter guitar solo*
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"Support, Healer keep your aggro down!"
"Decoy switch out and get within healer's range! I'm coming in hot!"
"Null Initiate sealing ritual!"
This one was inspired by Heroes Never Die by Natewantstobattle
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D-Rock
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Re: U&U: Valadirian Conquest

Post by D-Rock »

These are looking good, and some kinda funny.
Faith doesn't change circumstances. Faith changes me.
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ChekeBello
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Re: U&U: Valadirian Conquest

Post by ChekeBello »

I'm with D-rick, these are nice. Looking like a group of friends enjoying a good game, but we know things are not gonna stay that way >:P
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Re: U&U: Valadirian Conquest

Post by Krytus The Dreamer »

On my first story (HPXKH ~ Hearts of the selfless) I was more focused on developing characters, and plot lines, which is why it has Kingdom Hearts thrown into the mix. I didn't need to establish the world around my characters since the creators of each world they visited already made the information for me. This fic's main focus is to help me with my world building skills in addition to the ones mentioned before, and since its free for interpretation I decided to go for it.

Another elephant in the room is this fic's placement in time, while this fic happens in the same timeline as HPXKH it doesn't require that you do read it first. That being said I will try to sprinkle in a few easter eggs or foreshadowing moments so that if the person reading this decided to read HPKH they will see the connection. If you want to point a few things out that may be considered spoilers for HPXKH do use the spoiler tags

So, for this story i decided to delve deep into the world of gaming for a lot of the mechanics that will show up, as well as some of the powers, etc. Including but not limited to, Overwatch, Guild Wars 2, Log Horizon, Magic the gathering, Kingdom Hearts, and the list goes on.

This chapter was inspired by Log Horizon's Main Them and It's battle theme

Chapter 01
Game On

I let my legs dangle precariously off the side of the cliff. The atmosphere was calm. A slight breeze flowing through the air combed through my golden fur while i had my eyes shut the entire time. I knew what was around me by heart it’s always been like this and that’s what I’ve enjoyed about this place.

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 that only came so close to the mountain I was currently on. It was a masterpiece only mother nature could paint, but I chose to enjoy more than the view.

I listened for the gentle sound of the leaves rustling behind me. The whisperings of the wind in my highly trained ears. Even the distant rumbling of thunder added to the atmosphere I surrounded himself in. However the one that caught my ears the most was the sound of a bell ringing.

Hearing this i snapped my eyes wide open while an excited smile formed on my muzzle. I loosened the grip I had on my right hand to reveal a black diamond shaped locket with a strange stone that shifted colors often in a hypnotic fashion. To excited to be distracted by the locket’s shifting colors, I unlinked the chain so that I could put it around my neck.

Once the locket was fastened in place, the beautiful scenery I chose to listen to melted away. In the place of nature’s blend of greens, blues and whites the scenery melted into nothing but inky black darkness, with four exceptions. Surrounding me was four doors each decorated in their own fashion.

The one in front of me was decorated with a shield and had the following inscription “Be it sword or spell do you choose to protect those around you?”

The one on my left was decorated with an open palm and had the following call to arms “Through desperate and hopeless times do you choose to make others stand tall instead of yourself?”

The one on my right was decorated with a cross inside of a circle and bore the following mantra “When cries for help are sounded, do you choose to answer that call?”

The one behind me was decorated with a sword and bore the following motto “No matter the most dire of circumstances, or riskiest of chances do you chose to draw your weapon?”

I didn’t need to think, I already knew what i wanted, so I headed straight for the door marked with the sword and stood proudly before it as the words shifted for me to read aloud “I, Kitsune, choose to draw my sword, no matter the most dire of circumstances, or the riskiest of chances.”

Once I made my choice the other three doors faded away into the darkness making it painfully obvious there was no turning back now. Inside the my door of choice was a plain white shirt and a pair of rawhide pants with a sword resting on top of the articles of clothing.

I then donned the clothing to find it was a perfect fit. Not too tight to restrict my movements and not too loose that it would fall off. The next thing the Fox tested was the weight of his new sword. It was light enough that I could hold onto it with one hand but the handle was long enough to accommodate both hands for a two handed swing.

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

The dragon was almost two heads taller than me and fully equipped in battle worn armor in addition to his sturdy scales. Two proud wings emphasized the warrior’s stature he seemed to have complete with a few scars here or there that showed just how much experience this dragon had in terms of combat.

“Greetings I am Tyr, and I will be one of your Game Masters.” he lowered himself to a humble bow “Now i assume you’ve already read the rule book.”

“Nope.” I said nonchalantly with a matching grin

At this the dragon flinched before giving me a blank stare “Seriously? Did anyone bother read this? It was issued a hundred years ago, literally.”

“I was busy alright, and besides i only got it yesterday.” I argued with the book in question already in my hand

“You know what, nevermind.” Tyr sighed in frustration “I’m having this exact same 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 around my neck “They’re called limiters, and as the name implies will limit your abilities. Over time as more mana is exposed to it the limiter’s restrictions 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 happens, 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.” I noticed the back of my left palm starting to glow and on it was inscribed three triangles intersecting at the center “Your goal, is to conquer all of Valadir.”

Even if I only heard only a glimpse of how the game works I already couldn’t contain my 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,” Tyr grew a slight grin on his face “this was actually a last minute decision but before the game can really begin everyone must first complete a trial.”

“A trial?” I repeated

“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.”

I was about to continue my argument but Tyr beat me to the punch and snapped his fingers. All of a sudden the darkness that surrounded me vanished along with Tyr and in its place was the intense heat coupled with the constant groaning of metal. Once my eyes finally adjusted to the sudden shift in lighting I was greeted with the sight of an active volcano. Everywhere I turned magma was flowing in and out of elaborate tunnels. Adding to the complexity of the scenery before him was an equally elaborate rail cart system that was still active carrying ore and coal to and from destinations.

“Game start!” My attention was drawn to my locket that now sported a timer counting down from two hours

No more than a second after I heard my locket sound off the start of the countdown explosions farr off in the distance could be heard followed by loud metallic hissing and roaring. Under normal circumstances most folk would walk away from the threatening monster noises off in the distance, I on the other hand went directly for it.

After navigating through the treacherous pools of lava, the increasingly complicated railway system and the rocky terrain, I finally caught sight of the appointed guardian. At first I didn’t know what I was looking at. The boss in question didn’t look like it was actually a boss in the first place. It was a round looking object stuck to the ceiling of a large cave with scorching hot flames escaping its center from various exhaust ports. Once the flames died down molten steel began to spill from the exhaust ports and pool down beneath it. The molten steel then began to move on its own slowly shaping itself into a living metal snake. The metal snake then began prowling around the cavern as if acting like a guard to the living forge.

Underneath the forge I already caught sight of various other celestials already engaged in combat with various metal monsters. All of them wielding different weapons but equipped in the same white shirt and rawhide pants I was. Any one of the celestials below could be a member of my pantheon, but from where I was, it would be impossible to tell. The only solution was to go down there myself and try to sneak a peek at their hands while trying to battle the boss at the same time.

Once I was finally within range of the living forge I was blocked by a squadron of metal tigers. Rather than slow down to a halt I increased my speed to meet the tigers head on. As soon as I was in range of one of the tiger’s claws I lowered my center of gravity and allowed myself to slide under the tiger’s open stance. Quickly after, I picked myself up and mounted a counter attack.

Even if my blade was a starter weapon it was more than enough to cut through some of the metal tiger’s hides. It was a completely different story for the leader of the pack as I lifted my sword up and with both hands tried to hack away at the tiger’s metal skin. However my sword didn’t go in deep enough to dispatch the metal monster and forced me to retreat. Unfortunately for me, the tiger wasn’t about to forget the blow that was dealt to him and gave chase.

Through the chaos of the battle field I ducked and dodged other celestials but the tiger was still on my four tails. Wherever i went the beast followed, especially determined to chase me down. Eventually the tiger managed to corner me at a drop off, and beneath it was a lake of red hot lava. With nothing else to do and nowhere else to run I held my sword up to face the tiger one on one.

“I’ll save you!” suddenly a blue blur slammed right into the tiger and managed to hit it with enough force to knock it over the edge and into the lava lake

Said blue blur was a woman with black hair armed with a sword and a shield kept afloat by her four blue feathered wings “Tsukuyomi?” I couldn’t believe my luck “Tsukuyomi! Thanks for the save!”

“Kitsune!” She waved back “You were invited too? What faction do you belong to?”

“Wait, you saved me before you knew which side i belonged to?” I asked with a raised brow

After this point was made to her she chuckled as she scratched the back of her head “Oh, right, i guess the excitement just got to me.”

I was so dumbstruck by her carefree attitude in the middle of combat that i didn’t notice a metal snake make its way behind us. Tsukuyomi, distracted with her conversation with me didn’t have enough time to get out of the way and met the snake’s attack with her shield. Her shield held, the only problem was that her footing didn’t, which lead to her and the snake plummeting down to the laval pool. Try as she might to flap her four wings but the weight of the metal snake was too much for her to carry leaving her to drown in the pool of lava.

“That’s gotta hurt.” I winced at the sight

“Yeah no kidding.” coughed Tsukuyomi causing me to reel back from shock

“How are you here!?” I screamed “I saw you go down?”

Tsukuyomi gestured to the tomb stone at her feet “My guess is this is how the death system works for this game.”

Now that I had a closer look Tsukuyomi was somewhat transparent while a halo floated above her head. Above her halo it said “Respawn in: 00:07:00” in bold black letters while her tombstone had the caption “Didn’t pay enough attention in battle.”

Instead of focusing on it too much I diverted my attention back to the living forge that was still spewing metallic creatures. By that point the battlefield was almost devoid of celestials or their tombstones. This meant I had little competition left to deal with when contesting for the current world, but it also probably meant that some of the celestials already claimed a world for their own and I was just lagging behind. Regardless I had a trial to complete and most of the metallic monsters were already gone and taken care off all that was left now was the living forge.

As I cautiously entered the cavern that shielded the forge I noticed the absolute lack of metallic creatures. I found it unnerving, judging from the way it was acting the forge was the type of boss that only spawned minions to fight. So if there weren’t any minions left it might have shifted into another mode of attack.

Catching me completely of guard was the living forge crashing straight into the ground before me. Everywhere you looked on the forge, there was several punctures and supports torn clean off. Standing triumphantly atop the forge was a three headed navy blue dog, sporting the standard gear like I was, pulling out her sword from what remained of the boss’ body.

“Please tell me we’re on the same team.” I sighed in frustration

The three headed dog raised her right hand up to show a flaming hammer on the back of her wrist “I’m afraid not, sorry little fox.” her left head said merrily once she noticed the mark on the back of my hand “Bye bye,” her right most head waved before blowing me a kiss

All of a sudden I was sent flying backwards by an unknown force as the scene began to shift around me. Before the scenery could complete its change I felt my back impact a thick rocky wall. As I recovered, the only thing i could do was gingerly massage my back while studying my new surroundings. I found myself in a garden overlooking a forest view, the harsh and strict sounds of the forge were instantly replaced by the pitter-patter of raindrops slowly making their way towards the ground.

Curious I pulled out my locket only to find the counter was almost to the one hour mark. Not wanting to waste a single second of the time I had left I went to work on finding where this realm’s boss might be hiding. Before I could fully break out into a run I stopped once I noticed a white wolf on his knees not too far from where i was.

The wolf had the same white shirt and rawhide pants I did except on his back was a quiver fully loaded in arrows with a two stringed bow wasn’t too far away from where the wolf was. Because of the wolf’s clothing I instantly knew that he was a celestial, the only question was if this particular celestial was friend or foe.

“You do realize that there’s only an hour left right?” I stated nonchalantly, making the wolf flinch “I get that it’s frustrating to lose a world but, I mean, you’re just sitting here and we don’t even know where the boss is.”

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 me with his left hand to shake

“Uh what does it look like?” I reached out with my left hand and shook “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 I had

“Finally an ally, so what, you’re support I guess?” I said gesturing to the bow in his hands

“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 our conversation short was a loud and thunderous boom. I felt my ears swivel to the source but the sound seemed to echo all around us. Cautious i already had my sword out and Vidar had his bow drawn, for all we knew it could’ve been the realm boss we’ve been looking for.

Much to our complete surprise however, we instead were crushed under the weight of two other beings. Due to their mysterious entry as well as being able to withstand a fall from such a height I knew right away that they were celestials.

“Ugh, that could’ve gone better.” The two celestials said in unison as they still sat on top of me and Vidar

“PETE!?” Called one of them

“DRAGON!?” called the second one

“What are you doing here!?” Dragon, I’m assuming since she was, well, a dragon, stood up while dusting herself off and stowing her staff on her back

Pete stood up as well this time sheathing his sword and shield “Playing the game, what does it look like?”

Dragon rolled her eyes “That’s not what i meant,” her face then slowly took on a more horrified look “Please don’t tell me.” she then grabbed Pete’s left hand and compared it to hers and found that their symbols matched mine and Vidar’s

“RANDOMLY ASSIGNED MY TAIL! Of all the other thirty five players I could’ve been stuck with I get you!?” Pete fumed while he kicked a tree to no avail

“Guys,” I chimed in but was completely ignored by Pete and Dragon.

“Hey, its no walk in the park for me either!” Dragon argued back “You’re so unbearable in this game.”

“GUYS!” I yelled this time getting their attention “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” I then held out my locket and presented it to Pete and Dragon “We’re down to less than an hour!”

“Oh yeah genius, where’s the boss then?” Pete huffed arrogantly

“I might have an idea,” Vidar said before pointing to the mountain’s peak “I think it could be there.”

“How can you tell?” Dragon asked a little skeptically

Vidar then pointed to the clouds “I mean just look at it, doesn’t it look like that’s where a boss would be?”

“Of course it’s there.” I facepalmed as he motioned towards it “C’mon as I’ve repeated multiple times we don’t have much time to waste.”

Of course it had to be this mountain the exact same one i happened to be on it not too long ago. I guess i could count myself lucky the boss happened to be on this mountain and that we happened to spawn two thirds of the way to the top. That leaves us with forty minutes to fight and finish off the boss. Using that boss fight with the living forge as a reference point, the fight should take ten minutes at the very least. Our team was well rounded out, I’m on offense, Pete’s got defense, Vidar has support and Dragon’s on healing duty. Theoretically we can take on the boss of this world no problem, provided the others know what they’re doing.

After trudging through the clear cut path to the top where i once waited for this game to start we finally came to a stop. Aside from the familiar tree, there was nothing waiting for us, only the now downgraded view from two hours ago. Still, there was no telling what kind of boss we were up against, so i had my sword drawn and my senses raised to high alert.

As expected, once all of us were at the peak the ground beneath us began to shake. Loud banging thuds could be heard snaking around us, as if someone was playing the drums of war. It got louder and louder till eventually the monster that made such a noise raised its head from the cliff. Overall, it looked like it had an alligator like appearance but as it continued to climb onto the peak it revealed an extra pair of limbs. Its entire body glowed in a ghostly pale light and was somewhat transparent. Amidsts its terrifying features of fangs, and multiple eyes, i noticed a still pinned to its skull while a scar dragged over one of its multiple eyes.

“SIERRA STALKER!” I yelled once i noticed its tail twitching slightly “SPREAD OUT, DON’T LET IT KNOCK YOU OFF THE SIDE OF THE MOUNTAIN!”

As i screamed out my command the Stalker flicked its tail directly at us. Since i was able to spread out a warning ahead of time everyone was able to avoid the attack. Once the creature failed to hit its mark it crawled over the side of the mountain circling us while we were disoriented. If we weren’t careful it could pick us off one by one.

I made my way to the center while keeping my 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

“Now’s not the time!” I argued as a tail lashed out from the edge and slapped down

Luckily it didn’t hit anybody but it was incredibly close. There wasn’t a whole lot of room to move around, and because of its superior mobility with the landscape, taking it down was going to be a challenge. Something was off, Game Masters wouldn’t put such a hard boss fight at the beginning of a game. There had to be a way to take it down with the time we had left, but every time it attacks, it only uses its tail, and avoids coming back onto the platform.

Then it suddenly hit me, I almost slapped myself for not noticing it earlier. The white glow it seemed to give off, the battle scars it had, the sword pinned to its skull. This creature was already long dead, but it was being controlled like a puppet. That sword must be the center of it all, and to take the boss down, we had to remove the sword. Sneaking a peek at my locket i found that we were down to twenty minutes. It would be cutting it close, but it was certainly better than nothing.

“Guys!” I announced “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 loose with one of your arrows. Healer make sure everyone is good to go on health.”

“Who died and made you boss!?” Pete argued while he still held position

Giving off a frustrated huff, Dragon kicked Pete into action “Just do it ya big baby! You’re on defense to protect us, not so that you could avoid being one shotted!”

Once again i strained my ears for the clawing of the Stalker on the cliff side. This time however instead of using that knowledge to predict where it’s tail would hit I ran full speed towards the sound. Shutting out all survival instincts i had I leaped off the cliff before the tail could strike and sure enough the Stalker we just beneath me.

Since i was too close for its tail to hit I managed to latch onto the fur on its torso and hang on tight. My 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 me off, but because it was hanging onto the side of the cliff it was too dangerous and it could lose its footing. This forced the Stalker to climb back onto the platform where my team was already in waiting.

The moment it was already back on the top of the mountain i started making my way towards the sword on its head. As i climbed i heard a whistling buzz past in my ears before a second came, and a third. The fourth one managed to scathe my arm, a red mark could be found where the arrow made its cut, but then it soon faded back to its normal hue.

“VIDAR WATCH WHERE YOU’RE AIMING!” I yelled as i continued to struggle my way to the top “YOU ALREADY HIT ME!”

“Sorry!” He yelled, lessening the rate of arrows coming my way

As i climbed i could tell the monster was beginning to slow down, but the same could be said for me. Having to constantly switch hand holds while the monster kept a steady pace of shaking and attacking Pete, was already beginning to drain me. Even as i continued to trudge to the top I could feel my hands slipping from their grip, it was only a matter of time before i slipped up.

Making matters worse was another arrow sailing through the air; its trajectory was perfectly line up with my head. Everything began to slow as the arrow approached me, and the only thing i could do was either to accept my fate and allow the arrow to hit me, or let go and be throw off the side of the cliff. Either way I was a goner, so rather than prolong i accepted my fate.

To my complete surprise however, instead of sending me to death spectate my team as they failed their objective, the arrow dispersed into a blue mist that splattered against my face. All of a sudden i felt revitalized and once again had the strength to continue my climb.

“SORRY!” Vidar yelled again

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

“I HAVE NO IDEA!” he shouted back

Rather than question it, I used the new burst of energy in one final push to reach for the sword’s hilt. The moment i had two hands on the handle i heaved with all i could. It took a few heaves but after my fourth attempt, i 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 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, in exchange for pulling the sword i had to sacrifice my one grip on the monster and i was already on a pathway towards the cliff. Though, in the long run i was just going to respawn anyway, so it was completely worth it.

“I GOTCHA!” Vidar yelled as my momentum was suddenly cut short

I looked up to see the white wolf struggling to hold me up from where he was but didn’t look like he was about to let go any time soon “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 me up

With a shrug I allowed the wolf archer to pull me back up the ledge where Pete and Dragon were already waiting for us, nonchalantly. Sure there were scuffs and scratches here or there, but the team pulled through, and that’s all that matters. I pulled out the locket from underneath my shirt and instead of a countdown what i saw was the word success written in bright golden letters.

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

“So?’ Pete asked

“So,” I pointed to the tree that miraculously survived the battle “you guys gotta see this.”

Again the others followed me to the tree as we watched the sun slowly rise from the horizon. The clouds of rain were dispersing to make room 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 paint, and in my opinion the best reward for completing the quest. Though, this was only the first step, and there was plenty more to do.

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 amongst the murky marshes. it took a lot of handwork, it was his treasure and pride, and here no one would call him names.
ChekeBello
Posts: 274
Joined: Thu Sep 04, 2014 10:56 pm

Re: U&U: Valadirian Conquest

Post by ChekeBello »

A little tougher than expected for the first mission, but better than a boring tutorial mission for sure!

So, multiple game masters? That's a bad idea on my book (personal experience), but let's see how that work for the celestials.

Nice read of the settings, pretty descriptive =)
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Krytus The Dreamer
Posts: 369
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Re: U&U: Valadirian Conquest

Post by Krytus The Dreamer »

ChekeBello wrote:A little tougher than expected for the first mission, but better than a boring tutorial mission for sure!

So, multiple game masters? That's a bad idea on my book (personal experience), but let's see how that work for the celestials.

Nice read of the settings, pretty descriptive =)
I'm just gonna borrow this from an abridged series
SAO Abridged wrote:In order to jump; Jump
Well this one has like forty five celestials involved (Four members of the pantheon for each world plus their commanders so estimates) I'm not sure one is going to cut it.

Thanks I've been trying to pay more attention to the backgrounds and environments to make it more immersive.



this one took me a while because I was helping someone else with their own fan project, then i decided hey let's try making a new style, which took another week, then after that I got distracted by my most fatal weakness....... OLD NOSTALGIC SATURDAY MORNING CARTOONS!

Anyway I finished chapter 2 so hope you enjoy and tell me what you think
This chapter was inspired by Running Free by Peter Crowley and Pagan Metal - Gleipnir Performed by Green Summer and composed by Adrian Von Ziegler


Chapter 02
Those Who Hail From Midgard

With our decisive battle behind us, we were clear to take it easy for a while, and the scenery certainly helped set the mood. The breeze gently flowing through just as it did the night before, the lake sparkling in the distance, the rustling of the leaves. Everything settled back down to its more peaceful state. Except, the mood got boring two hours in, and the sun had made it halfway across the sky already. Sure the scenery was beautiful but there had to be a limit somewhere.

“HOW LONG DO THEY EXPECT US TO WAIT HERE!? I miss experiencing time relatively.” Pete finally exploded, though with his temper I’m surprised it didn’t happen sooner

“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.”

Since Dragon pointed it out, I did notice Vidar strangely silent this 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 exhausted.” Pete huffed ignoring the fact that Vidar chose to kept silent even though our conversation of topic was around him

As Pete said, Celestials don’t need sleep, nor do they need food, water or really anything that a mortal normally would need on a daily basis. Though that doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy it, it’s just not a lot has happened to tucker Vidar out that much that he would need sleep. I guess i could chalk it up to the limiters having different restrictions per category, but something still felt off.

I wasn’t sure if it was because i was bored, or because i was curious, but i felt myself compelled to wake him up just to ask. Though he looked so peaceful leaning against the tree like that, I almost felt bad for waking him up like this, if he really was sleeping though.

However, before i could reach out to him, even a little a beam of light struck the ground in front of us. Everyone, except Vidar reacted calmly to the occurrence, though it looked like i 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 focused almost as sharp as Pete’s talons, and his arms folded behind his back.

Even though he carried himself formally, I wasn’t sure what i felt about him. He looked dangerous, yet polite, Scheming yet straightforward. Any read i 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 us all, 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

“I just like this form alright?” Vidar blushed as he mumbled to himself “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 to 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?” I asked with my hand raised “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 available 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 the mortals directly.” he said with the shake of a head “That falls to the four of you. For this mission, I want Pete and Dragon to pair up, and search the southeastern desert for an avatar. You might as well start building up that cooperation i was talking about earlier. 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, specifically near a marsh I have a good feeling about these two specific areas.”

Pete looked like he was about to argue with Loki, but Dragon did her best to hold him back “Also, before I go, use this to get around. I’ve scattered these all over strategic points on Midgard, so it wouldn’t be too hard to get around.” 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, your limiters will guide you to our temple of operations.”


With that Loki about faced and walked away slowly turning into fog as he did, until he was completely gone. Now that Loki left us to ourselves, everyone was given the chance to look over their scrolls to choose a class they could work with, albeit Pete did it with a frown nestled firmly on his beak. Vidar seemed to look at his scroll defeatedly before giving a sigh and using his claw to cross out a class. In a matter of seconds the scroll lit up with blue light that eventually burned away the scroll of envelop Vidar.

The light acted like fog, yet at the same time light as it swirled around Vidar, blocking him from view. Behind the cloud like light, i 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, and his rawhide pants was replaced with cloth ones but somewhat torn when they reached near his feet. His bow and arrow remained the same, only this time, his quiver had an emblem on it.

“That was quick,” I said enthusiastically as i grabbed his wrist “Now C’mon, you heard the bossman, we got an avatar to find!”

Vidar, caught off with my 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 decided a little bit later.” I tucked the scroll away into one of my pockets before fully dragging Vidar to the Bestower

Once i was close enough, I 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 i was proven wrong, as the winds beneath our feet violently kicked up in an instant propelling both me and Vidar higher into the sky than we already were.

Hearing the rush of the howling winds blow through my ears as it combed over my entire body dozens of times in the span of a single moment, I couldn’t help myself but laugh as we 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 we could see unobscured beneath us.

Since we were moving at such a high speed, I almost didn’t catch it forming in front of my very eyes. From Vidar’s back sprouted a pair of transparent wings, each feather as white as the fur on his body. I looked behind me 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 what the Bestower could bring us to

With a roll of my eyes I tapped his vest causing him to open his eyes albeit at a snail’s pace “Uh hello? Open your eyes, we’re going to be fine.”

Once Vidar fully opened his eyes, he saw the world for what it truly was. The wide open forest that blended in with each other, the shrunken mountains we had conquered in less than a second, the ocean of clouds that surrounded us. 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.” I 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 me a silent nod of confirmation, I shifted myself into a diving position. Once again i felt the song of the wind playing loudly in my ears, causing me to laugh the same way down. Only this time Vidar joined my howls of laughter and screams of excitement. It was an odd feeling, these wings. Sure astral jumping was far more efficient, but these wings, felt liberating, exciting than just instantly appearing wherever we needed to go. I didn’t have to strain myself to control them, all i needed to do was think and the wings would respond, sometimes instinct would kick in and i wouldn't even have to think. It was literally effortless.

The rush of adrenaline, the smear of the colorful landscape as we flew by. It was an amazing feeling, something I could only experience in person and i sure was glad i didn’t decided to stick to watching all of this unfold from afar. Something told me, this was never going to get old.


“KITSUNE!?” Vidar yelled over the air in our ears “THIS IS FUN AND ALL, BUT DO YOU KNOW WHERE WE’RE HEADED!?”

“COMMANDER SAID WE’D HAVE TO LOOK FOR A MARSH! THAT’S WHERE WE’D FIND OUR AVATAR, AND I THINK I HAVE AN IDEA OF WHICH MARSH HE’S TALKING ABOUT.” I replied as i honed my eyes for the landscape below us

While the region was mostly mountainous, there were a few marshes here or there. However, there was one marsh that was close to the mountain where we had our first battle. Not only was this marsh one of the largest in the region, it was also the one with a village right within its boundaries. Where there were people, there would be Avatar candidates, and one of them has to be our guy.

“THERE!” I pointed out to Vidar once i saw the trees slowly decrease in density till it was nothing but murky and foggy waters

Responding perfectly to my will, my wings took me down gently despite the speed I was coming in. Once i was close enough to dry land, I felt the wings relieve themselves off my back and land me perfectly in the one island safe from the murky waters. Vidar wasn’t as precise as i was when it came to landings and instead dropped himself into the water so fast, i swear i saw him skip on the water’s surface 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. Maybe choosing pure, snow white fur wasn’t the brightest idea out there.

“Rough landing huh buddy?” I laughed as i offered him my hand

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

“Hey you said it not me.” I replied as i helped him onto the shore of our dry island

While i gave Vidar the chance to dry off, i took a moment to look through my surroundings. Sure the sun was still up and the skies weren’t too clouded off, but with the fog surrounding us 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 i missed being in the sky surrounded with all that color and wind.

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

I took another good look around me but still nothing “We’re looking for avatars right?” Vidar responded with a nod, “we then look for people.”

“Even so,” Vidar asked as we moved along dry land “how will we know the avatar is the one we’re looking for?”

“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 my explanation, Vidar steadily went quiet. No doubt processing all that i told him. I didn’t mind, it allowed me the freedom to look around a little more. Yet, no matter how hard i tried, the veil of the fog was almost impossible to see through. All around us nothing but thick bland and lifeless fog, a complete contrast of the skies we flew through not too long ago.

Halting what little progress we’ve made through the marsh was the sound of both of our limiters going off at the same time. Begrudgingly i pulled the locket from underneath my shirt and examined the shifting stone. All i knew about the limiter, was that it, well, limited celestial abilities to balance the game. Was this another function i just never bothered to read up on.One by one, the shifting stone at the center of our lockets projected letters till 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.” I said once i finished reading the message printed into air in front of us “C’mon let’s go check it out.”

Vidar gave me another concerned look “Wait~

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

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

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

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

Upon hearing the war cry something in front of us blazed to life, as a terrifying screech could be heard through the once deadly silent marsh. Arrows were loosed, men were attacking, fire was spewed. It was utter chaos, and Vidar and me were not even a worth paying attention to as men, women, wolves, panthers, all armed to the teeth ran past us like we were nothing.

It’s like the man said directly in front of us was a demon. A living hell flame, taking on form. At it’s core, it looked like it was made from coal, and it was what sparked to life. However, now that it was engulfed in flames, it took on more of a nightmarish as a living flame. It brushed of a set of incoming attacks like they were nothing, and was able to counter by spewing flames from its mouth. Despite this, the men attacking the demon didn’t falter and kept coming in waves.

“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 me to take a look at my locket, and when i did, i 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 me and Vidar’s attention “Fall back towards the eastern section where the marsh is deeper!”

As quickly as they came all the warriors did fall back, however the flame demon was still hot on their tail. It continued to spew fire as it gave chase, arching it so that it would hit them from further away. This disoriented the warriors, but it wasn’t enough to break formation as they ran.

“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, i 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

I 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 i was to see this through and we gave chase after them. I wasn’t sure what drew my attention to the black wolf running through the crowd of armored warriors. Maybe it was the hopeless look in his eyes crimson red eyes, and i wanted just wanted to see him make it out of the scuffle alive. Maybe it was because he looked so desperate; so desperate that he ran into the battle field without so much as a dagger to protect himself. Whatever the case may be that wolf stood out and I like to stick to my hunches.

Once we finally caught up to the group we 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 all gathered here, like a treasure hidden away for safekeeping.

That once magnificent garden of color in a bleak marsh was slowly being tarnished by the battle that rage on top of it. Fires rages at 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 happening, and the black wolf that stood out from the crowd of warriors was forced to watch it unfold in front of his very eyes.

Even with the advantage of water surrounding the entire area, the flame demon looked to be too powerful. Try as they might, they had no ground to stand on during this battle and it was completely one sided. If they decided to continue fighting it would spell their end.

“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!”

This was it, I could see it in his eyes. Maybe it was the surrounding flames that continued to burn in the background, but i saw his crimson eyes burn bright with ferocity that didn’t match his body. It was hard to tell that such eyes belong to such a young and helpless looking wolf. He probably hasn’t even reach a day past his juvenile age, yet but there he stood fearlessly in front of a living hell flame.

“Vidar!” I yelled catching him 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!” I yelled once i 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. 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 me 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 i 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


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 pressed his ear against the door, no doubt it being 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 her 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 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
ChekeBello
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Re: U&U: Valadirian Conquest

Post by ChekeBello »

Wondering how exactly the avatar part works, since the celestials will be active on field, they are doesn't feel like avatars but as party members (who happen to be mortals), liking the new places we see on this chapter.

I love how the Null class emblem is based on the Chaos symbol, for me it means that instead or a symbol that represents balance with all the classes, u went for one that show the infinite possibilities between them.

Also, the name of our new avatar... I'll save my questions and comments, for now :P

Keep Going Krytus
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Krytus The Dreamer
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Re: U&U: Valadirian Conquest

Post by Krytus The Dreamer »

ChekeBello wrote:liking the new places we see on this chapter.
I've noticed that I like to use forests a lot for scenery and backgrounds in stories so I'm trying to see what I can do with other destinations.

Anyway, sorry its been like what literally a month since I've updated but a lot of things happened. School started back up again, then i got sick with stomach flu and then Typhoon season is rolling in (Taking out the power and making wifi extremely unreliable). However no one came here to read my rants so here's the story.

Its a little slow paced, I guess, since this was originally going to be the first half of a chapter but when I put it into perspective it looked odd. So i halved it.

Chapter 03
Preparations

As expected our base temple was absolutely massive and housed just about any facility you could ask for when it comes to the game. An arcane library to study up on spells or details on your class, a banquet hall to stuff your face, even a forge to repair or craft your weapons and armor if you’re into that sort of thing. Of all the facilities the temple had, the one i enjoyed the most was the training grounds for the sole reason that it was the only one outside in the open air.

The sun was just getting ready to start its climb through the sky and the air was crisp. Since the temple was built into the side of a plateau I had a perfect view of the landscape around me. Wide grasslands stretched far into the horizon with nothing to obscure the vast ocean of green i was seeing. The calm yet sweeping winds made each blade of grass flow in such a motion that it looked like waves. All of it basking in the light of the new day. It was perfect, or at least it would be if it weren’t for the frustrated grunts i would hear every so often.

“Darn it.” huffed Vidar as he quickly drew another arrow and loosed it “Ugh why can’t i get this right?” he snarled in frustration once the arrow missed its mark

“Geez you’re terrible at this.” I sighed finally having sat through enough of Vidar trying and failing to wield his bow properly

He stuck his tongue out at me half playfully, half angrily “Thanks Captain Obvious, even if I am terrible with this abomination of a weapon, I can still see.” he then tried to draw another arrow

As he did i took a moment to look over him and instantly found one of his problems: Vidar had terrible form. It was extremely obvious that this white wolf had never picked up a bow in his entire immortal life. Which only begged the question of why he chose his class in the first place. While Vidar continued on with his poor archery form, i breathed a sigh of frustration, I just couldn’t stand to watch him go on like that anymore.

“Pull your left arm back a little further.” I said slapping his left arm with the hilt of my sword and proceeded to do the same with any of the mistakes i spotted “Straighten your back, chest out, use both eyes when aiming, keep your right arm firm, breathe.” Once I literally slapped Vidar into proper form i took one more look at his form and gave him a nod to release the arrow

Rather than sailing straight over the target or veering off course, the arrow hit its mark. Granted it wasn’t a total bullseye but it at least hit the target Vidar was aiming for this time. It was a step in the right direction at the very least.

“Awesome!” Vidar cheered as he jumped for joy “You seem to know your way around a bow, why don’t you choose a class around that?”

I rolled my eyes as i turned my attention back to the accursed class scroll “I can’t; having two archers on a team just limits our ability to fight in close range. Besides I’m looking for something a little more challenging than spot a target and shoot. I need something that challenges skill. Something to get my mind working, ya know?”

“Okay, I think I see where you’re coming from. May I?” Vidar held out his hand, asking for the scroll

Once i gave it to the white wolf his eyes instantly went to work reading through the various class lists and abilities. It was almost funny to watch his eyes continuously dart back and forth between lines. After a few seconds of Vidar burning through the list he handed it back to me with one class already singled out.

“The Cosmic Wanderer.” Vidar announced proudly “A class that relies very heavily on your placement skills.” when i tilted my head in confusion he took it as a sign to expand on his description “If you choose this class you’ll be given five different throwing knives. You can either summon these daggers back to your hand or you can teleport right to it.”

“So if I plan it properly enough I can string together long combos for continuous damage?” I asked to see if i understood it properly

Vidar nodded with gusto “Exactly, that and you have serious a serious mobility advantage over basically any grounded celestial. The only draw back is that you’re fragile as all manner of heck, and the teleport has a four second recharge time to any of the daggers. If you aren’t careful you could be taken out in one shot.”

Once i had my class scroll back in my hands I poured through the other classes for the nth time. Seeing as nothing stood out to me in the slightest I decided to throw caution to the wind and cross out the name of the Cosmic Wanderer from the list with my index finger’s claw. As soon as i finished crossing the class out, red light began to pour from the scroll, like it did with Vidar. Before I knew it, I was overwhelmed with a flood of red light as it began to reshape my clothes and weapon.

A few seconds later and my white shirt and rawhide pants were replaced with a dark blue silk woven gi. My last armor set was light, but now that i was wearing the gi, i actually felt lighter and much more flexible. Even my sword underwent a drastic change. Now strung across my waist was a belt containing five lightweight daggers. Each was a drastic change in length to my starter sword and it was definitely going to require a few practice sessions to get the hang off.

“Finally,” I breathed in relief “I was beginning to worry that I wouldn’t be able to choose. Thanks for telling me about that class. You’re a lifesaver.”

While i looked through my locket Vidar laughed sheepishly “Oh, I dunno about that. I just so happen to know about it that’s all.” Once i found the item i was looking for i had the vial appear in my hands so that I could present it to Vidar “Uh, what the heck is that?” he took it so that he could get a better look

“A reward from the quest we completed when we recruited Garm.” I replied “Something called the scout eye. It modifies the marking underneath your left eye so that in addition to what you can already see, it allows you to see in the dark and across long distances. Perfect for an archer like yourself.”

“I’m not sure i can take this.” he said in an attempt to give it back to me

“Oh no,” i laughed as i pushed his hands back towards him “You’re keeping it, besides, you’d be making better use of it, being an archer after all.”

Again Vidar looked like he was about to shove the vial back into my hands, but I kept my grip stern and my eyes clear. One good look at the look in my eyes and Vidar had given up with a slight smile before uncorking the vial and letting the contents slowly drip onto his left eye. The effects was the light blue marking underneath his eyes slowly reshaping itself so that it looked like a single blue wing. Once the binding process was complete Vidar blinked a few times, no doubt beginning to adjust to the new abilities of his left eye.

“Well?” I asked with an excited laugh “How is it? How far can you see?”

Vidar rushed over to the cliff side to better take in what he could now see, before turning to me with a brightened smile “It’s amazing! I need to take this into a dark room so i can test out that other… ability....”

“Vidar? What’s wrong?” I asked, his sudden drop in excitement accompanied by him pushing me aside and rushing into the grove of trees had me curious

As I continued to follow him I noticed Vidar took all precautions to not be heard. He made sure not to step on any leaves of fallen branches, he didn’t brush up against the bush but he stuck close enough to it so that the bush wouldn’t rattle. Even though i wanted to ask him what had his attention i decided to play along for now and follow the white wolf through the grove of trees.

The more i followed Vidar the more my ears began to pick up a conversation in the distance “What about my village, my home, my si~” that was Garm

“Not to worry young pup, they are safe. Sadly I cannot say the same for that beautiful garden of yours.” a calm voice replied to Garm’s worry riddled one

I recognized the voice too, it was Tyr. However when Vidar and I peeked our heads over the bushes I didn’t see a tall white dragon calming Garm down, it was a tall man. He wore the same armor, had his hair the same tone as his scales used to be and even had the same voice, there was no doubt that was Tyr.

Garm, completely healed from his encounter with the fire demon, still had his chainmail shirt on. Except, he wore a tired and worried face that matched his voice from earlier. A complete contrast to his rage riddled face i saw not too long ago. It was like staring at a lost 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 knelt down so that he was on eye level with the black wolf pup “Those are wise words. If you hadn’t stepped up, many more lives would have been lost. For an avatar that has 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 said as he cleared a tear from his eye

“And you have, Garm, I see the potential within you.” Tyr said as he gripped Garm’s shoulder “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 me fur stand on end for catching me by surprise

Tyr stood up and reassumed his dragon form and began flapping his wings “It looks like you are needed. Do your best out there.”

“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.


***

After traversing the temple’s various corridors with the aid of my limiter as a map, I finally found the War Room. The inside of the room was supported by seven columns and at the base of each column was a chair. All of which were surrounding a round table that was showed images made of light depicting various places in midgard.

The furthest chair from the entrance was the most well designed out of all of them and without a surprised seated Loki who was patiently awaiting everyone’s arrival. Next to him sat Vidar, still in the same bad mood he left me in. Without so much as a word I took my seat next to Vidar while the three of us waited patiently for the rest to assemble.

A few moments later Pete and Dragon arrived together their appearance clearly showing that they’ve already chosen their class. 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. Pete on the other had had black sturdy looking armor but at the same time it didn’t look as thick as the ones I’ve seen. 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 around 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. He was probably still mad for being grouped up with Dragon when he could’ve easily been grouped up with either me or Vidar. Luckily for us the growing tension in the air was cut short by the arrival of our two new avatars.

Garm had completely recovered from his moment of weakness with Tyr and was now wearing a bright grin on his face. It almost looked adorable considering he looked to be 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… wolf 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 we were all properly seated Loki tapped the table and showed us an image of an island with only a temple built onto it and the rest a dense forest “With the new intel I’ve been given, I’ve decided to send you here. Mortals used to worship an idol that once protected the island, but since they died out the idol now rampages and attacks anyone who sets foot on it.”

Loki gave the table one more tap and the image shifted from an island to a massive figure comprised entirely out of stone. It stood at least half of the War Room’s size and had two gemstones for eyes. Judging on its looks alone one hit would be enough to cripple anyone sitting on this table.

“Your mission is to take out the rampaging idol,” Loki continued undaunted by the stone golem’s intimidating stature “then take control of the island. While it might not look like it, this island is sitting on an enchanted iron vein and clearing out the island will allow us access to its resources. Your limiters should point the direction of the island when using the bestower. Any questions?”

“Who’s going to lead this ragtag team of warriors?” Pete asked huffing out his chest no doubt expecting it to be him

“Kitsune.” Loki said almost instantly as he slid a vial across the roundtable over to me with a piece of paper attached to the nozzle of the vial

Pete, caught off guard 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, that is the legionnaires eyes, and allows its wielder the ability to see where his followers are at all times. As for the scroll, it is a list of all your teammates’ abilities and classes. Use those items well.”

After i accepted the vial and poured it on both my eyes Loki paused once more to wait if anyone else had anything else to say. With no other questions we could possibly ask him Loki stood up and went on his way. Leaving the six of us to ourselves.

Seeing as I was this team’s newly appointed leader i thought i would have to address everyone properly. The only problem was that everyone was already preoccupied with their own business. As soon as Loki left the room Dragon had her face buried in a book, Pete was busy inspecting his scythe, Vidar was checking his bow and arrows, Apep out of nowhere suddenly had a snake in his hand and was feeding it some sort of berry.

“If you’re our leader then that makes you our chief.” Garm said suddenly as he held out his hand to me, catching me off guard “I am Garm it’s nice to meet you.”

I grabbed his hand and shook it “Oh that’s right, we’ve never formally met before. The name’s Kitsune. You sure you’re up to this? Maybe you need to rest a bit.”

“I’m fine.” Garm gave his arm a good stretch to demonstrate it to me “In fact I feel great. So 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 I rushed over to Vidar so I could hold him back for a few moments. I might not have known him for long enough, but his sudden behavior had me worried.

“Vidar,” I 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

I sighed as i let him go, so that we could rejoin the rest of our 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.

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
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 legionnaires 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
ChekeBello
Posts: 274
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Re: U&U: Valadirian Conquest

Post by ChekeBello »

I do like Apep a lot, really hope he somehow betrays them all xD But that seem pretty obvious to happen >w<
Although Kitsune's class reminds me of Minato's Kunai Technique, it makes me think more about Noctis (FFXV) signature ability; sound like awesome class
I way too curios about the Oversight in that other one fic too.
Krytus The Dreamer wrote: Anyway, sorry its been like what literally a month since I've updated but a lot of things happened. School started back up again, then i got sick with stomach flu and then Typhoon season is rolling in (Taking out the power and making wifi extremely unreliable). However no one came here to read my rants so here's the story.
Hope things are more settled now, and take ur time ^^
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Krytus The Dreamer
Posts: 369
Joined: Tue Sep 06, 2016 8:09 am
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Re: U&U: Valadirian Conquest

Post by Krytus The Dreamer »

ChekeBello wrote:Kitsune's class reminds me of Minato's Kunai Technique, it makes me think more about Noctis (FFXV) signature ability; sound like awesome class. I way too curios about the Oversight in that other one fic too. Hope things are more settled now, and take ur time ^^
Yeah, i kept the one about Minato in mind, but originally i had this kind of power proto typed for someone else but it didn't turn out so I decided to use it here.

I'm actually a little proud for coming up with the name for it since it was punny but at the same time it meant something

I don't mind taking my time writing these things its taking too much time that I'm worried about.

Next chapter for this fic. Hope you guys like it and tell me what you think about it. This chapter was inspired by It's my Turn by Jeff Williams

Chapter 04
Team Trial

Pete
Category: Defense; Subcategory: Decoy
Class: Dark Deed Executioner

For each opponent this class marks they get an increase in movement speed as well as a slight increase in defense. Each mark can easily dispelled by dealing damage back or simply touching the user.

Spirit Dragon
Category: Healer; Subcategory: Burst Healer
Class: Cleric of the Sacred Scriptures

This class’ main method of healing relies heavily on prayers that take six seconds each to fully complete, and can only be focused on one target at a time. In the meantime those targeted have either slightly increased movement speed, defense or attack.

Vidar Odinson
Category: Support; Subcategory: Enabler/Disabler Hybrid
Class: Mana Reaper

This class has the ability to harvest mana from opposing players, then distribute it back to their teammates in the form of buffs or replenishes their mana supply. supply

Apep
Category: Support; Subcategory: Enabler/Disabler Hybrid
Class: Snake Charmer

Using various poisons and venoms a Snake Charmer can place debuffs on opponents and provide extra buffs towards their teammates. These can be administered from a distance with the use of their snake familiars. However the buffs given towards allies slowly decrease health.

Garm
Category: Null
Class: Demon Rager

????


‘Kitsune?’ Vidar’s telepathic contact snapped me out of my readings ‘I have land in my sights.What’s our plan?’

It all suddenly came back to me in a quick punch that almost overwhelmed my senses. The scent of salty air flooded back into my nose complemented by the refreshing spray of the ocean we flew over. A sight of seemingly infinite blue filled up my eyes with the occasional sight of my team flying around me.

I took a moment to stash Loki’s scroll in one of my pockets before turning my attention towards the direction Vidar pointed in. Sure enough out of the seemingly endless sea of blue I was faced to face with was a small sanctuary of land. It was filled to the brim with trees and really only had one distinguishing structure, which was the temple Loki mentioned in the briefing.

Our mission was to locate the corrupted idol and take it down in order to secure the island for our own purposes. The first thing we should prioritize is actually finding the darn thing before we can fight it, so as of right now splitting up seemed like the best option.

‘Alright gang, we need to find this thing and take it down.’ I said as the six of us pulled closer and closer to the island ‘Split up into teams of two if anyone finds that idol do not engage, wait for everyone to form up. I got Vidar and we’ll explore the temple to see if we can find anything. Apep and Garm search the east side, then Pete and Dragon go for the west.’

Suddenly Pete’s annoyed voice came over the telepathic link causing my fur to stand on end ‘Oh no, not this time anyone but her. I’d even take broody ears over there.’

‘You are aware that i can hear you right?’ Came the annoyed tone of Apep’s voice

‘Alright fine Pete, you can go with Apep. Just stop arguing over the telepathic link, it’s giving me a migraine.’ I growled to myself as i rubbed my temples

With their orders given, my team set out in their given directions. With our flight capabilities it didn’t take long for Vidar and me to reach the temple and come in for a landing. As we got closer and closer to the ground through, I did notice how old the temple was. Judging from the looks of it no one’s been here in years.

Vines have been given the chance to overgrow the the stone temple structure. Its once clean white and clear cut stone bricks have now been withered away by the elements leaving fragments of the bricks just gone. This temple must’ve been quite the sight back in its heyday, but now it was only a pity.

“Vidar do you see anything?” I asked as i continued to look around the outside of the temple

“Nothing, unless you count completely rusted over weapons.” Vidar said as he emerged from the temple “Also these blue flowers buds that seem to be everywhere inside and outside this temple.” he said plucking one from a nearby vine

I took the flower from his grip and studied it for myself “Aether Wisps, a rare and beautiful flower that can only bloom once it’s witnessed death.”

“Kinda morbid isn’t it?” he said with a slight laugh before proceeding to look around a little more

I threw the flower bud away and continued to search for the corrupted idol “Yeah well, some celestials don’t have much in the way of creativity sometimes.”

I breathed a frustrated sigh before going deeper into the forest. It shouldn’t be this hard to find a massive living stone statue. Yet the dense forest surrounding the temple seemed to be hiding the idol fairly well. If we somehow managed to stumble across it in this kind of environment we’d have the upper hand. For the idol there isn’t a lot of room to maneuver. Even if it could break these trees with ease it would still be a hindrance. The only way we were going to find something that big was to go somewhere the idol has enough room to move.

It was pointless to survey from the sky since the trees were dense enough to hide the landscape below. Even with Vidar’s newly enhanced sight, i doubt he’d be able to see through the canopy. Which meant our only approach had to be from the ground.

‘Kitsune, we have a problem.’ Dragon’s thoughts reached me telepathically

Garm soon followed after ‘I think i might’ve lost Dragon.’

‘Wait, what? how? ‘ I responded with sheer confusion

‘Nice, lost the newbie in like what five minutes.’
Pete chimed in with a laugh

Vidar looked at me with a concerned look ‘How in this universe did you manage to do that?’

Her thoughts were just as confused and dumbfounded as I was ‘I turn around for a few seconds and when I turn back he’s gone.’

‘I swear I thought i could be gone for a few seconds and come back, but i think i might’ve gone in a different direction.’ Garm added

‘Alright, uh try to group up with Pete and Apep. Vidar and I will track down Garm.’ I said slapping my face in added frustration

With our telepathic conversation over I immediately concentrated and put the legionaries eyes to the test. At first all I saw was the usual darkness i always did whenever I closed my eyes. Though, the more i kept them closed four clouds of red began to gather in front of me. In one of them I saw Vidar standing in front of me, the other i saw Pete and Apep climbing down a steep hill, and the third one had Dragon desperately trudging through the forest to find any one of us.

In the final one, sure enough I saw Garm perched on a tree extending over a ravine. He seemed fine enough, but it was hard to make out what he was doing through all of the red. If i concentrated enough it looked like he was reaching for something. Just as Garm was about reach whatever he was seeking, a giant hand mercilessly reached out from below and snatched Garm along with the tree he was perched on.

“This isn’t good.” I sighed as I broke my concentration and ended the vision

Vidar’s look of worry continued to deepen “What; What’s happening?”

‘Everyone change of plans.’ I announced urgently as I dove into the forest looking for the ravine Garm fell into ‘We converge in a small ravine somewhere on this island. Garm was pulled into it by our target and is facing it on his own right now. It’s probably not too far off from where Dragon lost sight of Garm.’

‘Understood; making our way there now.’ Apep responded almost in a monotone voice

“We better get going too.” I said turning to Vidar who already had his bow drawn “Also since you’re the one with enhanced sight, you lead the way, just incase I miss something.”

“Gotcha.” with that Vidar sped off leading the way in front of me

As we ran I kept my eyes fully trained on Vidar’s noticeably white coat that stood out among all the greens of the forest. Though that didn’t mean I couldn’t devote my other senses to scan the immediate area. I had my nose focused on Garm’s scent, and my ears trained to pick up any sounds of a fight or screaming. At first I wasn’t able to pick up anything, but as we ran i began to pick sounds of rumbling earth. From the looks of it Vidar picked up on it as well and stopped in his tracks.

“Do you hear it too?” I whispered as i continued to hone in on the sound

“Its faint,” Vidar replied in the same volume “but i hear something.”

Putting our trust into what we heard Vidar and I traced the rumbling to a different portion of the ravine i saw in my vision. At the very bottom was the stone giant Loki showed us in his vision keeping a firm grip on Garm with one hand. Garm struggled all he could but didn’t scream or yell. It must be making it hard for him to breathe otherwise he’d be yelling right now.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Vidar drawing his bow, keeping to the form I taught him “Wait,” i halted him just before he could lose it “the two of us alone against that thing isn’t going to turn out well for us. We wait for everyone to group~

“THERE YOU ARE!” came Pete’s battle cry as he emerged from the forest brandishing his scythe

The stone giant focused its attention on Pete as he zipped around the giant leaving slashes as he passed. While Pete preoccupied the giant, a small beaker was lobbed at the giant and when it broke it spread a green goop all over the wrist that had Garm trapped. Now that he was given an opening Pete ducked and weaved through the giant’s attacks was was able to sever the hand that trapped Garm, and allowing the black wolf to fall callously to the ground.

Noticeably angry, the giant plunged the stump of its former hand into the ground. Then when it came time to pull it back out, the giant did so with a new fist attached to the once severed hand. Not only were we dealing with a threat that had a huge environment advantage over us, but one that could heal itself as well.

With our current level, there wasn’t much we could do. The giant would simply attach new stone limbs to replace the ones we cut off. The obvious thing to do was to aim for the gemstone eyes, but hitting it would require near perfect accuracy. Even i wasn’t that good an aim with Vidar’s bow. I doubt that Vidar, who’s only had one day of training with it could hit such a mark. The only reliable thing I could come up with was Garm’s sealing ritual, like what he did with the fire demon. Though, Garm was in no state to perform his ritual.

“Vidar watch our backs,” I said as i unsheathed two daggers from my sash “don’t even bother with defense buffs, focus on harvesting as much mana as you can and distributing speed and offense buffs.”

Vidar drew an arrow and focused his aim “Understood.”

With one quick motion of my arm, i was able to send the throwing knife in an arch and landed it right in front of Garm who was still dazed from the giant’s grip. Just as i cast my thoughts to move towards that knife the surrounding area began to blur and blend together. Before i knew it i was in the midst of the action in front of Garm.

Wasting no time i immediately slung, one of Garm’s arms over my shoulder and began to lug him as far away from the commotion as i could. Unfortunately for me, the stone giant took notice of me dragging away Garm and started to shift focus towards me and Garm.

“Oh no you don’t.” Pete suddenly flew in from above and hooked his scythe around the giant’s neck stealing back the attention “I’m not done with you yet!”

‘Five second speed buff incoming!’ Vidar announced through the link as a blue arrow shot from his bow

The arrow sailed higher into the sky before exploding into five different streams all honed in towards his allies. Once i was hit with one stream i felt the weight Garm had on me lessen slightly enough so that it wouldn’t leave us at a snail’s pace of escaping battle.

“Kitsune!” Dragon called my attention from a pathway leading down to the crevice “Over here!”

With one more push I was able to bring Garm over to Dragon in a corner tucked away from the heat of battle “Get him back on his feet.” i commanded as i cast my thoughts to the dagger i left on the battlefield “We’re going to need all hands on deck for this one.”

Dragon gave me one firm nod before i commanded the world around me to smear into a blurry mess of colors. Once again i found myself pulled back to the spot where i left my dagger. Summoning the dagger on the ground back into my hand i rejoined my team in the heat of battle.

Since the golem’s body was made out of uneven rock it wasn’t hard to find a griphold to latch onto with my free hand. The only hard part is actually doing damage with the comparatively tiny knives. Every now and then I would chip something off, but the damage compared to Pete’s was next to nothing.

‘Kitsune,’ Dragon warned ‘I’ve gotten Garm back on his feet, and everyone seems to being doing well for now, but Pete’s health is in the red.’

With more info to work with i set my sights on the battlefield to break down the situation ‘Understood; decoy get within healer’s range. I'll keep it busy for now. Support, healer, make sure you don't draw too much attention to yourself. Null initiate sealing ritual, I'll give you as much cover as i can.’

‘It’s about time,’ Pete grunted as he dodged one more attack ‘we really need to work on our timing.’

‘I understand.’ Garm said before rushing into battle to take Pete’s place

As Garm rushed in, I trailed slightly behind him till i was close enough to throw more daggers. One dagger managed to land its mark on his forehead and i was able to take full advantage of it by teleporting to its position. Once i was in the giant’s line of sight i did my best to strike at its gemstone eyes but it kept shaking and thrashing about trying to get me off.

Luckily my main goal wasn’t to take out its sight but rather buy time. Garm already had a sealing circle formed underneath his feet and threw his hand skyward. From his hand manifested a red glowing chain that had a manacle on one end. Soon the stone giant shook me off, but my work was complete the manacle had snapped on tight, and by this point it was all over.

At least it should’ve been over. When i first saw Garm’s sealing ritual, its effects were almost instantaneous with the demon in question weakening as soon as the chains were snapped on. This time the giant showed no signs of weakening any time soon. In fact it was able to grab Garm’s chain and drag him around effortlessly.

It hit me almost instantly. Of course Garm was going to be weakened compared to when he first awakened his powers. The limiter he was wearing was meant for celestials and severely limited his ability to seal demons.

‘The pup doesn’t look like he’s going to last any longer.’ Apep said snapping me out of my thoughts ‘I suggest we do something chief.’

‘Pft, that’s nothing I can handle this now that I’m back to full health.’ Pete said climbing high enough so that he could land a strike with his scythe

‘Garm,’ I called out trying to formulate a new plan ‘isn’t there anything else you can do other than sealing demons?’

‘There is, but i need a strong enough flame. Master Tyr told me that my powers are going to be harder to handle but for now I can draw on other sources to aid me.’ came his rushed response

I wracked my brain for some way we could give Garm the flame he needed. None of us had any flame related abilities, nor did we have a reliable way of producing one Garm could use. We had the use of the forest around us, but we needed something to make a spark to get the flame going.

As i continued to analyze the situation, I caught a slight glimpse of Pete’s scythe scratching along the surface of the giant’s forearms. It was faint but as it scratched along some of the rocks that made up its arms sparks were produced.

‘Garm, disengage from the target and wait for my signal. Guys, lead the thing towards the forest. I have an idea.’ I commanded as i rushed up the path that lead to the forest

Garm sounded hesitant at first but did as he was told ‘If that’s what you want chief.’

‘That’s easy enough.’ Pete snorted as he landed three simultaneous slashes on the stone giant’s face before pushing off and flying up the ravine “HEY! ORE FOR BRAINS OVER HERE!”

‘No, no, no, no! Do not move the beast yet!’ Apep panicked

It was too late; the stone giant made one huge leap up the ravine. To our collective surprise, when the giant landed Apep gave one loud scream both physically and over the telepathic link. When i arrived at the crater where it landed, I found a transparent Apep with a halo floating over his head under a timer that was counting down from seven minutes. Right next to his feet was a gravestone that said: “RIP: Died due to inconsiderate teammate.”

Shrugging off the loss we sustained I kept my focus on the stone giant. If I could produce enough sparks I could light some of these trees on fire. Although not all of the rocks on its body could produce sparks, so it was more or less trial and error. This was where my speed could come in handy.

While Pete still had the stone giant’s attention I was able to slip in under its attacks and plant a dagger on its forearm and move on to striking as much stones as I could. Due to my continuous attacks the stone giant’s focus switched over to me. As the giant was about to slap me like a mosquito I planted a second dagger before phasing to the dagger I left on its forearm.

I was able to continue the cycle of planting a dagger, attacking, and shifting position to a different dagger to dodge an attack. The sparks I produced were minimal, but I kept at it. Eventually I was able to catch a glimpse of a small pile of leaves slowly sparking to life.

With my goal accomplished I peeled off the giant and grabbed as much dry sticks I could find on the way to the small kindling. As soon as the sticks were nursing a flame of their own I then tossed the bundle towards the canopy of the forest setting in motion the conditions for a great inferno.

‘Alright Garm show us what you’re made of!’ I announced as i continued to spread flaming branches to the canopy of leaves

‘KITSUNE!’ Vidar warned in a horrified tone ‘BEHIND YOU!’

When i turned around it was already too late. My breath was suddenly knocked out of me as the stone giant made a swipe with its arms and hit me square in the chest. Before i knew it i was weightless for a few seconds before I felt gravity reboot and mercilessly drag me back down towards the ground.

‘Defense buff incoming!’ Vidar announced again as a yellow arrow soared high into the sky before raining down on all the teammates present

I felt Vidar’s light wrap around me to keep me safe followed by a quick and sudden stop in momentum. Due to Vidar’s defense buff as well as landing directly on top of him, I was able to survive the landing albeit with heavy injuries. While he wasn’t down to zero health, my fall seemed to have knocked Vidar into unconsciousness, leaving the two of us as sitting ducks. I could see Dragon rushing over towards us to try and heal our injuries, but the stone golem was already on top of us. With my eyes shut i braced for impact.

To my surprise, before i could close my eyes, Garm’s red chain, burning a brilliant flame, snared the giant’s wrist and halted its movements. Garm emerged from the inferno with the flames clinging to his body like clothing over his chainmail shirt. He held the stone giant in place with his left hand and on his right was a spear made of solid flames.

Seeing that it was Garm who ensnared it, the stone giant yanked Garm over using the chain. This was a solid mistake as Garm used the height advantage the giant gave him to call down another chain to snare the giant’s other wrist. Once Garm touched down on the ground he dropped the chains he already had on the giant and slammed it into the ground with his foot. The result was the giant becoming tethered to the area Garm pinned the chains down.

With his opponent held firmly in place Garm brandished his flaming spear and charged into battle with Pete not too far behind him. Both of them dealt quick and precise strikes to the giant as it struggled to break free. Pete and Garm looked like they were dancing around the target as the ducked and weaved around its massive frame. Since both of its arms were tied down, there was very little it could do to fight back, and instead had to take everything head on.

After dealing enough damage to the stone giant, Garm sent one more chain to form a manacle around its neck. With three chains fully established on the stone giant, Garm returned to the spot where he pinned the chains into the ground. Garm gave his spear a quick overhead twirl before striking the chains.

“SUBMIT TO MY WILL AND MAKE YOUR STRENGTH MINE TO COMMAND!” Garm yelled as the energy around his chains and the stone giant began to build

The resulting energy build up burst out all at once instantly dousing all surrounding flames including the ones Garm used as clothing as well as the ones on his chains. All was silent, no one dared to make a single solitary movement.

It took a moment for us to realize that the giant had ceased moving entirely. For a moment Garm was the only one who dared to move towards the stone giant. Once he was close enough Garm placed a hand on the stone giant causing it to crumble, signifying our victory. Once again, having spent a large amount of his energy Garm fell to his knees this time with a proud smile decorating his muzzle.

"We... did it." Garm cheered weakly

End of Chapter 04

It's PRO-TIPS WITH KITSUNE TODAY'S TOPIC: Side Quests

Quests are a standard thing for games. They help your characters level up, rewards them with new gear, and gives them time to apply their skills in the field. These can range from the always exciting hunt down this specific monster like you just saw to the run of the mill escort missions. Now of course we Celestials aren't that desperate for fun that we'd set monsters loose in a world just for our sick kicks. These monsters have naturally spawned and are seriously causing havoc to mortals around them.

Some quests are so closely tied to motrals that even we players cannot interfere unless there is an avatar among us that can take credit for it afterwards. This makes them think if a fellow mortal can do it why can't i? Otherwise mortals would get to reliant on us taking care of their monster of the week problems.

That's all for today so see ya!

***

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. 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 this unbloomed flower. We can start our garden over again.” Garm subtly reached into his limiter and pulled out a blue 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 bud 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.”
ChekeBello
Posts: 274
Joined: Thu Sep 04, 2014 10:56 pm

Re: U&U: Valadirian Conquest

Post by ChekeBello »

They call Garm the Fenris Wolf; that's certainly interesting...

Great to learn more about each one's class; the team seem extremely sustain focused, 2 supports, a tank, and a healer with just 1 DPS, Garm surely balances things but i hope they don't find themselves short of dmg at some point.

Apep's class is such a cool concept, where the idea comes from?

I dont think Garm should be telling anything even that way... that surely will come to bite him later ^^U
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Krytus The Dreamer
Posts: 369
Joined: Tue Sep 06, 2016 8:09 am
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Re: U&U: Valadirian Conquest

Post by Krytus The Dreamer »

ChekeBello wrote:They call Garm the Fenris Wolf; that's certainly interesting...

Great to learn more about each one's class; the team seem extremely sustain focused, 2 supports, a tank, and a healer with just 1 DPS, Garm surely balances things but i hope they don't find themselves short of dmg at some point.

Apep's class is such a cool concept, where the idea comes from?

I dont think Garm should be telling anything even that way... that surely will come to bite him later ^^U
The idea for Apep's class came from an Overwatch Fan hero who had the ability to poison enemies with his gun. I took that idea to the extreme and had Apep outright control snakes or have beakers of Venom secured on him to lob onto foes. I sat down and thought about what could be an annoying video game enemy. What i came up with was one that did small inconsequential damage but poisons and stays as far away from the fight as possible.

Chapter 05
Yggdrasil

My task was simple enough, fetch Garm and rejoin the others at our designated meeting area. Normally a quick telepathic message would be much more efficient to summon Garm to our temple but I decided against it. This was mostly cause i wanted another trip through the Bestower but also because i wanted to see Garm’s home town.

I’ve seen enough of the wild life on this world, but not so much of the town life for ordinary mortals. Lately its been developing into a bad habit of mine but really there’s no harm in it. To keep my celestial status discreet, i had my tails wrapped around each other, and if anyone asked I could just say fluffy tails ran in my family. Mortals would believe anything you tell them with the proper words and tone.

Despite what appearances might’ve suggested, Garm’s home wasn’t a bunch of grouped up skin tents. Instead it was buildings either made of stone or carved into the side of a small hill. While the gates were open to all kinds of merchants coming in or out guards still stood a vigilant for any threats that might present itself. To make myself seem less suspicious I was traveling along a dirt road that was next to the stone walls. Now that i was up close I could tell that these were built to last. Each stone was carefully placed in such a way that it could withstand some of the mightier blows.

“This isn’t funny! Give that back!” Came the distressed cry of Garm from around the corner

Reflexes kicked in and suddenly i had my back pressed against the stone wall with my dagger at the ready. Obviously I was most likely going to be dealing with a mortal. That meant i couldn’t perform some of my more flashier moves. I could still teleport or summon back my daggers, these were mortals not morons of course they knew magic existed, but I shouldn’t do it too often or show I’m exceptionally talented at it.

When I rounded the corner I found Garm in between two wolves as they played monkey in the middle with the small black pup “Aw, who’s the lucky lass runt?” a brown, much larger wolf teased as he threw the item in question to his partner in crime

“Lucky might be inappropriate since they’ll be stuck with a pup like you.” teased a gray wolf as he accepted the pass

I strained my eyes to get a good look at the object they were throwing around. From the looks of it, the object was a necklace fashioned out of a collection of flowers. Each bud was like a bead with the stems interwoven together to form the rope. It was clear that a lot of time and effort went into making such a necklace, and these two wolves were treating it poorly.

“I’m warning you,” Garm said tearing up, unable to properly compose himself “I’ll… I’ll…

“Is that a challenge?” The gray wolf laughed as he raised a fist against Garm

Instinctively, Garm reached a hand towards the stone wall in self defence. The two wolves picking on him didn’t notice it, but the stone began to slowly peel off of the wall and crawl up Garm’s arm. Quickly taking action I rolled into position and threw my dagger and had it pin to the wall only a few feet from the wolf’s muzzle. Taking advantage of their shocked state I immediately rushed over to Garm’s side and covered his stone armored hand with my tails.

“Chief?” Garm snapped out of it and was surprised to see me here

The brown wolf recovered and snarled at me “Who do you think you are?”

“A passerby who just happened to be at the right place at the right time.” i answered calmly and to his face “And might i say, picking on a small wolf pup over a small flower necklace seems rather petty don’t you think?” I gestured to the trinket in question with a dagger

I could tell the wolf was debating on whether or not he could take me on in a fight. He already saw how precise I could be with my daggers as well as how fast I could be. The chances of him deciding i was worth a fight was very slim. That wolf struck me as the type who only goes after the weaker ones to demonstrate how strong he was.

“Fine, take the trinket back,” he growled “but first, what is your name traveler?”

I didn’t really have to give it much thought “I am Kit, traveler from the east.”

“Here.” The wolf begrudgingly tossed the flower necklace onto the floor for Garm to gingerly pick up “Next time Kit, won’t be here to fight your battles for you.” The brown wolf and the gray wolf both left for the nearest gate, leaving me and Garm to ourselves


***

“Chief,” Garm said as he caught up to me in flight “if you don’t mind my asking but what were you doing in my village? Wouldn’t a telepathic message be much easier than traveling to my home?”

I flipped over so that i was facing him head on while still flying forward “What can i say; I just love the open air. Besides I wanted to see that town of yours.” I paused so that i could flip back to facing straight ahead “Who is that for by the way? The flower necklace I mean.”

“It’s… it’s… for uh… Dragon.” Garm said as he blushed

I raised a brow to his reaction “Oh really now?”

“I wanted to thank her for looking out for me on the battlefield a few days ago.” He said almost immediately to correct himself “Also to apologize for leaving her like that. There’s just one problem. I don’t know how to talk to girls.”

“Don’t worry little guy.” i said lowering my speed so that i was right next to Garm “I’ll back you up on this later.”

“Thanks Chief… for everything.” he said smiling innocently

I couldn’t help but grin. Garm was too adorable when he did that smile. Not only that but any random idiot could tell his feelings were genuine and true. This only served to remind me that this pup was one of the youngest in our pantheon yet at the same time was powerful enough to warrant a limiter meant for a celestial rather than a mortal. With the proper training and guidance this little wolf pup could be a real benefit to the team.

Because I was busy feeling smug about my decision to recruit Garm I almost missed our destination “There, come in for a landing next to that small cave.” I pointed downward to a small secluded hill

“Aren’t we supposed to head back to our temple?” Garm wondered as we gently touched down in front of the cave “What is this place?”

I gestured for him to follow me “Not today; now come on, the others are waiting and they might just start without us.”

I lead the black wolf pup in and once we were past the entrance a row of torches lit the place up. Inside of the cave was an incredibly simple temple with only one chamber. There wasn’t much to see in this rickety temple, really the only thing that stood out was the large tree at the very center of the chamber.

Despite being grown on the inside of the temple the tree was perfectly healthy. Its leaves were lush while its oak trunk stood uncontested with multiple etches into its wood. Once i was close enough to the tree i placed a hand on its trunk causing my limiter as well as Garm’s to react. Before we knew it the tree lit up with a stunning light that lasted only a few seconds. As soon as the light died down I immediately about faced and headed towards the exit of the temple.

“Exactly what did that accomplish?” Garm asked as he caught up on with me, clearly confused about what just happened

“All you need to know is that, this place is a gateway, and a special one at that.” I explained as i continued my pace towards the exit “While it might not look like we went anywhere, we did. Now after you.” I finished by gesturing Garm to go ahead of me

With a confused shrug Garm exited while i lagged slightly behind him. The moment i stepped out, i instantly knew that Garm was staring in awe. His jaw dropped while his eyes had this look that easily said he was trying to process what he was seeing.

When we exited the temple in the place of all the scenery that once surrounded the cave Garm and I were greeted by a gaze into the cosmos. Stars of every size and color dotted the surrounding view with an astronomically large tree taking up most of the view. Currently we stood on one if its thousands of branches, each one leading to a different temple that opened up to different realms.

“Welcome to Yggdrasil.” I announced as i closed Garm’s jaw for him “Please keep your arms legs and tail within the premises of the branches. Should you fall, there’s no telling which of the nine realms you could end up in.”

“That’s… comforting…” Garm stuttered as he followed me through the branches towards the trunk

After traversing through the branches I was able to make out an entrance into the trunk and lead Garm towards it. The moment we entered the trunk the sounds of multiple excited voices began to sound off. Inside the bark of Yggdrasil stood nine different factions, each one aligned with one of the nine realms Valadir had to offer. Svartalvheim, Alfheim, Niflheim, Muspelheim, Jotunheim, Vanaheim, Helheim, Asgard and finally Midgard. All realms represented by their respective celestials and avatars all gathered here for one reason and one reason alone.

“Greetings!” Tyr announced from a higher perch to grab our attention “As you may already know, I am Tyr, your Game Master alongside Nike,” he gestured to a blonde beautiful winged woman holding a flaming torch in one hand and a laurel wreath in the other “and Thoth.” Next to Nike stood a pure white ibis holding a few scrolls in his hands

“Now all nine factions of Valadir didn’t come to Yggdrasil just to hear our introduction. You came here for this!” Thoth said tossing out nine different scrolls to seek out their recipients

Nike raised her torch and threw her laurel wreath skyward instantly multiplying and distributing itself to all participants’ heads “We declare The Game to officially begin!”

Thoth clapped his hands together and the resulting glow produced several symbols that shifted into different languages and symbols as it circled the inside of Yggdrasil. It read: Valadiran Conquest. Which drew the crowd to an uproar of furious battle cries and excited cheers.

“However!” Tyr announced causing everyone to fall silent and listen intently “We thought it would be a little more exciting with an exhibition match. The name of the game is rather simple. I believe you’ve heard of it: Hide and Seek.”

Whatever laughter came from the crowd was instantly silenced when Thoth commanded his symbols to shift into the image of a labyrinth “Now of course every game has its rules. Each team is required to put in a minimum of three participants from their pantheon. Of course if you’d like you may put it more, but that decision is entirely up to you. Despite having no particular goal in mind this does function similar to a free for all. Thus, the moment your HP hits zero, you are out of the arena. There is no bonus prizes that will be given out to the winner, nor will there be a punishment for last place. This is simply an exhibition match.”

“Each faction has fifteen minutes to decide on their participants. Do not rush your decision, think carefully about who you put in because all matches will be watched by all commanders. So may the best faction win.” Once Nike finished their address all participants of the game immediately went into battle strategy.

***

After diving through a crowd of multiple celestials I finally got to commander Loki and everyone else. Though they were easy to miss since a large bulky man stood in front of them. Even though he looked somewhat elderly he still looked intimidating, especially with that golden spear he carried around with him.

Commander Loki seemed busy addressing Pete, Dragon and Apep, but that man had Vidar pulled aside “You look like you’re having fun.” he then shifts his attention to the bow slung on his back “I never took you for an archer. I always thought you wanted to wield a greatsword.”

“Yeah well, you know, trying to broaden my horizons doing the best i can.” Vidar responded with a blush

“It suits you. I was worried that I might’ve told you far too soon, but you’re doing well.” he smiled warmly as he patted Vidar’s shoulders “I have to return to my own pantheon so if we can we should catch up later. Make me proud out there.” he said as he waved goodbye

Vidar sighed as the man continued to get further and further away “I’ll do my best da~

“Ho Vidar!” Garm yelled catching Vidar by surprise “Who was that?”

After being shocked senseless by Garm, Vidar took a moment to calm down his raging heart attack “Guys, you made it. That was just family, but C’mon hurry it up. My brother’s already hard at work trying to determine which of us and how many of us he wants to send into the arena.”

Gesturing for us to follow him, Vidar lead us back to everyone else secluded in the corner. Everyone looked bored as Loki paced back and forth probably going over everyone’s abilities, skill levels, weaknesses and the like. Meanwhile, Pete, Dragon and Apep all wore bored faces as all they could do was watch their commander wear out the heels of his boots.

“I assume you made it in time for the explanation?” Loki raised a brow as both me and Garm approached him

“Of course commander,” I smirked “we’re up to speed so you don’t have to repeat everything to us.”

“The you wouldn’t mind giving me your thoughts on who to pick then?” he responded with his own smirk

Immediately after he said that, the gears in my head went straight to work. While it might not look like it, there was more to this exhibition than most would think. All nine factions here were presented with a very precious opportunity. This was essentially everyone’s first impression of each other. Three was half the members of their Pantheon and no matter how you slice it some core foundation of how your team functions will be up for display.

First impressions were important, especially when a game so seriously involved in politics was coming up. If you lost outright your pantheon would be seen as an easy target in later game and picked on by enemy realms. If you won, you’d be seen as a formidable team but in exchange everyone’s seen how you play and counter strategies can be set in place to knock you down a peg. Having some experience in the seat of Game Master at one point I knew there had to be some middle ground. Putting up a fight, but at the same time not too much of it.

“I’ve got it.” I snapped my fingers as i came to my conclusion “The three we’ll be sending in are, Me, Apep and Garm.”

Loki kept his face stoic “Oh? And why would you suggest you three go into the match.”

“You’re not even taking this nagging lizard with you? How do you expect to last long without a healer?” Pete laughed at my choice in players

“Kitsune are you sure?” Dragon asked “As much as i hate to admit it Pete’s right. Not having a healer on your team would be a huge disadvantage.”

“Think about it,” I said gesturing to the three of us “we don’t want to reveal too much of ourselves so we can’t be too flashy with our powers. We also don’t want to reveal who our healer is so that they know who to take out first when the battle really matters. All of our abilities are usable under stealth conditions. I can zip in and out of combat before anyone can even blink. Apep can use his familiars to strike from afar as well as weaken foes, and finally Garm. Since he’s a null category it doesn’t matter what he rolls out with, he can change his load out to keep his unpredictability. Besides, they said it themselves there aren’t any prizes or punishments for anyone participating.”

Everyone took a moment to go over my strategy. Not having Dragon in our composition was the one flaw i was able to pick out myself. Though that’s only done for strategy in long term planning. Even if we do lose the battle, we could still have a shot at the war.

“I’ll give you this one chief. Your logic is sound.” Apep clapped slowly

Loki took a moment to perfumey poultine my deduction. From the looks of it he was agreeing with it and didn’t find anything wrong with it so far.

“Alright then,” Loki said suddenly “Pete, Dragon, Vidar on standby. Kitsune, Garm, Apep prepare for battle.”

***

“Time’s up!” Tyr announced to everyone in Yggdrasil “All participants report to your commanders as they will send you on your way discreetly.”

With that announcement Garm, Apep and I stood in front of Loki who was reading a scroll he no doubt received from Thoth. Everything was already set for me, I had my daggers sharpened to a point, I gave myself a full stretch, and I did a few breathing exercises to calm my excitement. Apep seemed to be as calm as ever, but Garm seemed to be the opposite. His eyes darted from point to point, he shook all over. It looked like all it took to scare him senseless was just touching him slightly.

“Garm, you alright?” I asked as gently as i could while pacing a hand on his shoulder

He tensed at my touch but still managed to form his words “Even though I’ve been in combat before, I’ve never really done it in front of an audience.” he tried to relax but his breath was still shaky “It was fine when it was only you guys, but when so many are watching, I’m afraid I’m going to mess up somehow and end up being useless.”

“Hey, don’t worry about it.” I patted his head “I’ve got your back in there. Also they said it themselves no punishments or rewards will be given. So you don’t have to worry about a thing if you do mess up.”

“Thanks Chief, you always know what to say.” he said cheering up a bit

Loki threw the scroll at the ground then looked to us “Are you three ready?”

“As ready as we’ll ever be.” I replied with a shrug

With my response Loki snapped his fingers and suddenly the scroll he threw at the ground caught fire. It was instantaneous the way the scroll burned to blue fire but just as instantaneously the fire died down to reveal a wooden cellar door.

Since i was the leader of this ground I took initiative and grabbed the cellar door by its handle and pulled it open. What I was greeted with was a stone staircase that lead to inky black darkness. I took a moment to calm myself once more before i took the first few steps into the cellar, followed by Apep, then by Garm.

“Good luck you three!” Vidar cheered for us as we continued down the staircase.

“Try not to mess up royally!” Pete teased before he was hit by something

“Don’t mind him, just do your best!” Dragon called in with the sound of Pete groaning

End of Chapter 05


It's PRO-TIPS WITH KITSUNE TODAY'S TOPIC: Yggdrasil

Valadir is a huge dimension with nine different sub dimensions all linked together by the world tree Yggdrasil

Svartalvheim - Mines of the Dwarves
Alfheim - Domain of the fairies
Niflheim - Birthplace of shadows
Muspelheim - Spark of Primordial Flames
Jotunheim - Territory of the Frost Giants
Vanaheim - Kingdom of the Lesser Mages
Helheim - Land of the Forgotten
Asgard - Kingdom of the Greater Mages
Midgard - Realm of the Mortals

Each world is unique in its own way, and of course offers varying avatars with different abilities and mind set. The sheer variety of this world from its settings, to the mortals that live here, to even the monsters that spawn are one of the various reasons why Valadir was chosen to be the battlefield for this game.

***

The Labyrinth was more spacious and open aired than what Kitsune had first expected. When he saw the projection of the labyrinth he expected it to be tight cramped spaces where enemies could be lurking at the turn of a corner. Instead the walls were given generous space between each other and there appeared to be no ceiling. Allowing Celesitals and players who could fly a distinct advantage yet at the same time make them a complete target since there was nowhere to hide. One good marksman would be all it took to bring down the flying nuisance.

Shifting his attention to his current team Kitsune ran what ever simulation he could think of inside his head. For the most part they were only there to survive and stick to the shadows. Should anyone catch them off guard or simply run into them Kitsune had to have something ready.

The walls were made out of stone allowing Garm to harness his new element fairly easily. That combined with Apep's stealthy application of defense debuffs and Kitsune's own ability to strike hard and without warning should be enough to take care of any threat. Though all that was only a precaution, as much as possible they were supposed to stay away from combat and not draw too much attention to themselves.

"Chief?" Garm approached Kitsune with concern "do you hear that?"

"I hear it too; something's coming." Apep turned his eyes towards the hallway we came though

Kitsune snapped out of his analytical thought process and strained his ears. Sure enough what he heard something fast approaching them. It wasn't footsteps or the sound of wings beating. Rather it was a low roar that was slowly getting louder and louder as it approached. At that point all three had their guard up, Apep pulled his sleeve open to allow a snake to slither out of it to remain on stand by. Kitsune drew two daggers from his sash, while Garm kept his arm ready to harness the stone from the wall as quickly as he could.

First came the sudden high pitch cry that seemed to echo all around the labyrinth. Suddenly and from both sides a torrent of water crashed into the trio of participants. Since they were close enough to each other Kitsune was able to latch onto both Apep and Garm to avoid them being wash up into different corridors. That however was all for naught as a giant fishing hook flew in from a separate corridor and mercilessly ripped Garm from Kitsune's hands, leaving him and Apep at the mercy of the current.
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Krytus The Dreamer
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Re: U&U: Valadirian Conquest

Post by Krytus The Dreamer »

Okay so the reason why i haven't been posting any updates recently is because well i hit a writers block on the current chapter. Usually to get over this sort of thing I re-read chapters to get a feel for where the story is and how to progress it further. The problem was that as i continued to read I noticed that the pace was off to me. Like i feel like i could've taken the time to establish the characters more since a good chunk of them are "original characters". If something happens to them no one might bat an eye since they cant relate or understand a character partially because there isn't any developed so far

Anyway so After re-reading what i have so far I decided to rework the chapters. This means that I will be changing the P.O.V. from 1st to 3rd to mix it up a bit and also experiment for when I'd eventually hit HPXKH ~ Advent of Ragnarok. Chapters 1 & 2 will largely remain the same but from 3 on wards I'd like to devote some time for development.

If you've been keeping up with the story and was expecting an update sorry to get your hopes up. I want to do this right, partially because these characters deserve the time to be developed but mostly because these are events that directly influence the events in one of my other fics.

Again sorry for the wait. Hope i don't keep any of you waiting for too long.
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