“My mom would always say that no one is evil. That all the pain and heartbreak in this world was because a few unfortunate people were never able to get the help they needed. She believed, deep down within, that there was good in everyone: even the vilest of scum could changet. And sometimes, all it took was a little kindness to set them down on the right path.
“And then there’s Libevich. Hells, that woman… I can’t even mention her name without getting goosebumps....
2024-09-25 14:03:17 +0000 UTC
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“Do not mourn me, my beloved. I… for so long I had been broken: drifting without purpose in this cold, miserable expanse. I suffered endlessly, beset with a gnawing emptiness that saw no escape, but then I met you. And this accursed gift called Creation no longer seemed so terrible.
“That is why I do not regret my fate. You, our children, and every blessing we have brought together: I wish to protect it all. And some day, they will grow, learn, and prosper in a world ...
2024-09-22 19:39:14 +0000 UTC
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“I had always wondered how my life would come to an end. Would it be sudden - my time finally run its course - or would it be a slow, drawn out death in an experiment gone wrong? I have never been much of a fighter, yet here I am: struck down and moments away from oblivion. My life, my work, everything… all for naught. To think I struggled so desperately just for my fate to be this pathetic. I had hoped to take at least one of the Polus runts with me.
“However, even i...
2024-09-21 00:43:23 +0000 UTC
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“I am becoming too fond of Ascalon. Ever since that moonlit night together, I find myself shying away from his gaze. It is gentle and warm and… confusing. I once thought him to be just like that lonesome Star, but now I am not so sure. They are certainly similar in regards to tendency: impulsive, naive, and ever so self-sacrificing. They both yearn to explore the wider world and break free from their sheltered existence. I suppose it is only natural for a child to resemble their paren...
2024-09-18 03:29:29 +0000 UTC
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“You might find this odd, Lorelai, but… I have always felt somewhat passive. I suppose it is more accurate to say that I do not really have any interest in leisure. I do not care for gold or wealth; I have neither hobby nor passion that I enjoy. Every day, I hone my swordsmanship, and I busy myself with administration—all to become a better King. To grasp ever so dearly to the principles of a hero.
“And it is not as if I dislike the work, on the contrary it gi...
2024-09-15 00:57:11 +0000 UTC
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“It was upon the following year of my coronation that I began to wonder… what does ‘invulnerability’ truly mean? There were very little records of Kings and Queens in the past ever requiring the full invocation of the Monarch’s Wings. Whenever there came a threat pounding on the capital gates, the current ruler would protect the city by calling forth a barrier. The guardian deity, that which doth take orchid form, was an extension of that sole, but simple, power.
...
2024-09-13 07:58:00 +0000 UTC
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“The study of Creation is endless, and while I am a staunch advocate for the teaching of all knowledge - even the more… shall we say controversial subjects - there are some pursuits far too heinous to risk being spread throughout this world. After a strict evaluation by the academic council many centuries ago, they divided these loathful arts into what we now call the Three Taboos.
“The Taboo of Coercion prohibits any sorcery involving the tampering of one’s mind: b...
2024-09-10 06:08:20 +0000 UTC
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“To think I would be forced to expel my stockpile of vapor… curse that Sarathiel. My tankard runs dry. It will not be long until it is fully empty, and then time will rewind. Back to that day. Back to the fate I so desperately cheated.
“How interesting. I thought death to be a terrifying thing, but now I am not so sure. My body feels light, my heart at ease. For many years have I sought to prolong this life already expired; I could never escape it, the dread of knowin...
2024-09-08 16:47:51 +0000 UTC
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“All children are born equal: That is the motto of the Moral Educational Reform of Institutionalized Tutelage, or the Merit Act for short. It is by far the most sophisticated and influential change writ by the Grand General, for the Merit Act’s purpose is to restructure the entirety of the Nox Caelum academic system from the ground up. What has once been but a means to produce more laborers is now transformed into one of the land’s most prestigious in regards to learning, and I do n...
2024-09-04 05:01:35 +0000 UTC
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“Humans are social creatures; this has not changed since the very beginning of our existence, and it is why we so often seek solace in the companionship of another. We congregate around those of similar beliefs, forge trusting relationships, and we toil the land as to bring future prosperity onto our descendants. Through this process, a most miraculous existence is born - the single greatest invention in mankind’s history - and that is the formation of a community. Many begin with hum...
2024-08-30 22:05:11 +0000 UTC
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“In truth, I do not understand myself why I dislike Sarathiel. Unlike Dismas, I suffered no familial losses save for some far-removed cousins. I had never interacted with him before all too often either, for he was a direct descendant. And whilst my own position in the lineage was of admirable prestige, there was a certain distance between our statuses that could never be bridged.
“Ever since I was young, I had always chased after his shadow. Sarathiel represented...
2024-08-27 07:11:57 +0000 UTC
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“There is one truth that all scholars of Cosmos herald as certain: Creation is alive. Though we may not see its form, the divinity is always with us. It reacts to our impulses: feels joy when one is happy and sorrow when one is sad.
“Emotions are what spur its growth, but there are moments when it simply becomes too much. Despair, trauma, rage: It cannot bear to witness such hopelessness, it deteriorates into a frenzied, twisted mess, and eventually… it corrupts...
2024-08-24 06:36:42 +0000 UTC
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“Ever since their antiquity, the Powers had been the most prideful and haughty of the Seven Orders. Sir Kay was a boisterous man, one whose ardent passion surpassed even the other Round Table Knights, and it was this very nature that spread prominently amongst his descendants. Against the kingdom’s enemies, they proved to be an ally like no other, crushing their foes with unwavering purpose. But their conduct towards citizens not of Power blood was… unmannerly, to put it lightly.
2024-08-20 21:50:48 +0000 UTC
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“Sarathiel confided in me his trauma, desperately hoping for some manner of salvation or reprieve. And I wished so dearly to give it to him, but… I failed. There were no words I could say: no manner of comfort that could mask the horror writ across my face. The man before me was once my precious junior, but I could no longer view him the same after his confession. I only idled by as our friendship slowly grew apart.
“It is, to this day, my greatest failure. He did not...
2024-08-16 08:53:59 +0000 UTC
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“The Powers were a prideful bunch, and I was no exception. Since birth, I had been hailed for my large stature and strength—raised to become a knight with no equal. I was a pure, unsullied noble-born, a man of the direct lineage, and so every day I was taught to behave as a noble should: be arrogant, be confident, and let none trample on your authority. ‘You are special, Sarathiel,” they told me. ‘You are the Power’s hope: our chance to finally prove superiority over the other...
2024-08-13 05:04:17 +0000 UTC
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2024-08-11 02:08:49 +0000 UTC
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2024-08-11 00:12:35 +0000 UTC
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2024-08-07 23:13:30 +0000 UTC
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“They carved out my eyes. They tore every last one of my fingernails. And when I could scream no more, beg no more for mercy, they stuffed my butchered body into a sack and then tossed me out with the rest of the garbage. There I laid, a few pitiful sputters away from my final rest, when I began to think to myself… if only there was a way to go back—to rectify my mistakes. Should I have been more kind? Should I have given up my life, my love, my wealth, my heart so covered in bliste...
2024-08-06 23:17:28 +0000 UTC
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“Heh, gettin’ tired are ya, Sarathiel? Don’t tell me a big oaf like you can’t handle o’ bit of heat! Though, I guess the desert is a little… hot. Very hot. Ah, well, all the more reason we should ‘urry up and gut this Caelum snake already! Come on, Velcroz ain’t gonna wait all day. Let’s finish this and git a drink at Mary’s—my treat.”
———
...
2024-08-02 07:10:29 +0000 UTC
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“Curiously, despite how Polus legends allude it so, the Celestial Zweihander Mattatron does not grant its wielder invulnerability. I had the fortune one fine day to have a ‘heart-to-heart’ talk with the late King, Dainsleif, and he was ever so kind as to answer my inquiries in depth - though I suppose my incessant pestering likely had a hand.
“But no, the Mattatron is not connected to the legacy of Freedom’s Will whatsoever. It was merely discovered by a wanderer ...
2024-07-29 20:34:46 +0000 UTC
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“To serve as amongst the Grand General’s inner retinue requires one to be ever on guard, for there are no shortages of those who wish to sow chaos in our fair empire. I cannot fault them; it is simply the nature of filthy, scum-sucking reprobates to corrupt all that is good. They were mere heathens before Caelum gave their kind new purpose, and how do those fools respond? With scorn. With excuses and complaints of unjust treatment when they are the ones who failed in proving their wor...
2024-07-26 04:46:34 +0000 UTC
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“Nokron… that man was not always so mad. Far from it, his passionate love for the science of transmutation was once a time respectable. Such was the reason I granted him the position of Alchemist Regent, and that title was not his sole responsibility. He served as head Ambassador as well: departing for foreign lands under my command, for his tender-hearted charisma wooed the likes of men and women alike. Yes, Nokron was a very skilled tool… but even the capable are susceptible to co...
2024-07-24 02:20:39 +0000 UTC
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“Once upon a time, in a far away forest, there lived a great and mighty Boar. The Boar was a proud, confident beast, for they had a snout that could sniff out any predator, powerful stumpy legs to deliver a devastating kick, and a thick skin that could deter even the sharpest of fangs. Indeed, the Boar had everything to live a comfortable life, and often did they spend their days lazing where the sun shone brightest.
“However, one day, a tiny Snake came up to the Boar. ...
2024-07-19 06:20:47 +0000 UTC
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“I’ve never understood why Xeros chooses such insane people to be his commanders. Gravitas is a crude battle-junky: Velcroz is a twisted deviant; Libevich is completely, utterly, terrifying… but Nokron? Even out of them all, he’s a disturbing one. ‘The Alchemist Regent’ or so his title is. You’d think someone like that would be more of a researcher, right? No. He’s much more. Much more cruel, more repulsive—a sick bastard who views life as nothing more than fuel for his ...
2024-07-16 09:31:15 +0000 UTC
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2024-07-14 20:27:19 +0000 UTC
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“Years ago, when Sarathiel was still Templar of the Powers, he was sent to the desert region under orders to intercept the then acting Caelum Commander: Rosengarten Velcroz. We had but only two Thrones at the time—Lorelai and Annalay, both of whom were already occupied with the Grand General’s advancement. And though it was a most perilous mission, Sarathiel was young and confident. He brought alongside him a great squadron of knights - including the Dominion’s Templar, Josephine ...
2024-07-11 04:54:35 +0000 UTC
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“Xeros, just how far must you go? It pains me to see you like this, so filled with hatred, when I know a glimmer of that righteous young man of the past still dwells within you. Your dream is something wonderful, but this is not the answer. Look around you! Is this world of yours truly worth the anguish and torment it has wrought?”
———
Xeros
Memories. They are a fickl...
2024-07-11 04:53:46 +0000 UTC
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“Hate. Every damned second I spend awake in the presence of that despicable, vile man fills me with such unceasing hate. It is all I think about, all I feel, all I must carve deep into my wretched beating heart, for I can never forget this rage inside me—the reason why I still force myself to be his little pawn. It is why I smile and bow and pretend to follow his every order, but the day will come when this facade can finally end. The moment he lets his defense down, I will rip him ap...
2024-07-08 06:20:28 +0000 UTC
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2024-06-30 08:27:18 +0000 UTC
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