ariplotter

Looking for Male partners: Fantasy, Fandom, and whatnot. [Currently Open!]

Looks like I've got a few good ones going now, so I'll close this for now. Check back for updates! Who knows, I may get even more spare time and creative cravings :) Will bump and update when necessary.

Defining Chivalry (ariplotter and Red Helix)

Leincrad: Ruled over by the Leinster Royal Family. Home to the Leincrad Knights' Academy.

Lyonsvarg: Nearest large kingdom. Ruled by King Tamwyn. Neutral alliance, for now.

Renado: Large, militant kingdom. Ruled by King Screnlaw. Is rumored to be amassing a force to besiege Leincrad.

Ensnaring Enchantment (ariplotter and EthTenshi)

Ok! I'll fix my description of the amulet in my post.

Ensnaring Enchantment (ariplotter and EthTenshi)

Tethys carefully wrapped the egg she’d found in a soft cloth as she heard the familiar sound of the peddler’s cart, tinkling through the village as it did every other Sunday. There was nothing in particular that she was in need of, but boredom led her towards the marketplace, where old Jak had stopped to hawk his wares.

“Ah, it’s pretty young Tethys,” he said, noticing her among the milling group of people who’d gathered around the cart. “See anything you like, just give me a holler.” He went back to watching the sticky fingers of his youngest customers.

Tethys perused the back of the cart, and nothing really caught her eye. She turned to go, but suddenly felt an unmistakable pull towards a small parcel at the very edge of the platform. Curious, she moved towards it. The closer she got, the more it sounded almost as if a distant voice was whispering on the edge of her consciousness.

She unwrapped the item to find a round silver amulet. It had intricate engravings upon it, the largest of which was an angered dragon. Its eyes were the same color as the large ruby stone in the middle of the amulet, which had a simple silver chain. Her breath caught as she touched it. Instantly, the whispering sensation stopped.

Tethys pulled Jak aside. “What do you want for this?” she asked, trying to keep her voice casual. The amulet was clearly worth a lot.

Jak looked it over passively. “Oh, that old thing… Found it in the dirt at the base of a mountain. Not much to look at, but if you really want it, I’ll take anything you have on hand.”

Tethys stared at him. Not much to look at?! Was he not seeing the same thing she was seeing? “Are you sure?” she pressed, figuring that he might just be jesting around with her.

“’Course I’m sure. It’s a pebble on a string, dear,” he pointed out.

Still confused, but not about to pass up on such an offer, she held out her treasure from earlier. “A Golden Honeywing egg. I was going to cook it with dinner, but it’s yours in exchange for the amu- for the pebble necklace.”

Jak raised his eyebrows. “You ask me, a Golden Honeywing cream with sweet bread is worth more than this trinket. But, it’s all yours.”

Tethys gladly made the exchange and hurried home. Once she was alone, she took out the amulet, and couldn’t stop staring at it. She barely remembered to eat dinner once the sun went down. Finally, she fastened the amulet around her neck, and fell asleep, clutching the pendant in one hand.

In mid-slumber, she felt a shadow of herself awaken, as though she was aware that she was dreaming. But where was she? A wide, grassy plain she had never seen before materialized around her, and across the way was a magnificent oak tree, beneath which sat an unmoving figure.

Defining Chivalry (ariplotter and Red Helix)

Lyn’s subsequent duels passed in a slightly painful blur until she was at last facing her final opponent: Sir Orenel, a knight who had graduated from the Knights’ Academy a few years before she did, and had fought impressively in each of his duels. Skilled though he was, Orenel had been a bully at the Academy, especially to her, because she was a girl and hadn’t grown past five feet seven inches: on the higher end of average for a maiden, but short compared to most male knights.

She was a little winded at this point, and she’d have bruises for days along her ribs, cramps in her leg muscles, and tension in her shoulders; but she didn’t care. Lyn knew by now that always having an ache or pain was something that came hand in hand with being a knight.

Lyn knew that Orenel would try to taunt her and get under her skin, to throw her off and gain himself the upper hand. If she didn’t focus, he could best her because of a few petty comments. She hadn’t come this far for nothing.

“Commence combat!”

Right away, Orenel spoke; loud enough for Lyn to hear, but not loud enough for the crowd to know what he was saying. “Look who it is. Little Emmy Emelyne, playing at swords still? I thought you’d realize by now that you’ve got a pair of tits under there. Or have you never had a man who wanted to touch them?”

Lyn took a deep breath and started watching his feet, ignoring the smirk that she could hear in his voice.

“Poor Emmy. Too weak to keep up with the men, not pretty enough to be a woman. I’m sure the local whorehouse would take you if you begged them, so long as you really are a woman between the legs.”

“Real men use their swords to fight. Words are the weapons of callow little boys,” she said calmly. Orenel’s wrist muscles were tightening, so she knew that he would soon make a move.

Lyn guessed correctly—Orenel surged towards her with a calculated strike, but she was ready, and blocked it smoothly. The next couple of minutes were a flurry of parries and blows and blocking, until they broke apart for a moment.

“I don’t know how they even let you into the Academy in the first place,” Orenel sneered, although sweat was glistening along his brow. “I bet you bedded the maesters to get in.”

“I wish you had learned something worthwhile during your time there. Guess you were too busy picking on first-year pages to learn what it means to be a true knight,” Lyn countered.

Orenel scoffed. “You say that as if you know better than I do. Look at you, not even worth enough to leave Leincrad with your own shield.”

“I’m leaving Leincrad tomorrow,” Lyn told him. “After I win this tourney.”

Orenel narrowed his eyes. “Not going to happen, Emmy.” He came at her again, slashing his sword in wild yet skillful strokes. Lyn blocked his advance and managed to whack the side of his face. The crowd cheered, and Orenel flung his helmet off in frustration, fighting the ringing in his ears. Lyn removed her helmet as well, evening the playing field.

Orenel attacked again, getting in close enough to drive his knee up into Lyn’s stomach while she fended off his blade—a dishonorable move, but not an illegal one. Lyn saw stars as she fought the pain that exploded in her ribs, and dropped to her knees, just barely managing to hold her sword up against the continual blows Orenel rained down upon her.

“Bet this is the only time you’ll ever see a woman on her knees,” Lyn taunted. Enraged, Orenel swung his sword back to deliver a forceful strike to the head; one that would surely cause lasting damage now that she had no helmet protection.

Orenel brought his sword back too far, and Lyn knew she had the advantage. She leapt forward, driving her shoulder against Orenel to push him back. As he fell, Orenel lost his grip on his sword, and Lyn rolled forward on the ground, jumping to her feet just in time to catch the blade in her left hand. She stood over Orenel, who had fallen on his arse in the dirt, and pointed both swords at him wordlessly. Lyn had won the final match of the tourney.

Ensnaring Enchantment (ariplotter and EthTenshi)

Basic plot points:

Vale No’Cheir was trapped in an amulet by an angered sorcerer

The amulet can allow its owner to possess the powers of what is trapped within

The sorcerer is unable to summon Vale’s power and throws it away

Tethys comes to own said amulet by trading a peddler

Vale is able to come to her in dreams by night and whispers by day

He convinces her to journey to find the item that can permanently free him from the amulet

This item requires a death in order for Vale to be freed

He intends for Tethys to be the sacrifice, but he grows to enjoy her company and wants her to belong to him

Vale decides that the sorcerer who trapped him can instead be the death required

He grooms Tethys’s natural magic abilities so that she can harness his power and defeat the sorcerer

Defining Chivalry (ariplotter and Red Helix)

Lyn was fairly confident for her next battle, until she stepped into the arena and saw just how large he was. She grimaced. Sir Vancel was a foot taller than her and twice as wide, so she would have to rely on speed and accuracy. If she had to go on the defensive, she’d be toast. There was no way her strength could hold back his sword—unless she got just the right amount of leverage.

The crier barked the commencement, and immediately, Sir Vancel lunged at Lyn, trying to throw her off guard. Lyn narrowed her eyes and kept her feet moving, and she danced away from his first swing, quickly thrusting her sword towards his knees. She only managed to tap Vancel’s armor, and the reach of his arm was longer than she thought. Right as she jumped away, he used the side of his body to bash into Lyn and knock her back.

Lyn stayed on her feet, but she tasted blood on her lip and instant soreness along her ribs, where Vancel had thrown his weight against her. She managed to stay calm, and feinted an upward strike, instead hitting Vancel in the back of one knee. He staggered for a moment, and Lyn took her chance to deliver a series of clanging blows. Vancel blocked a good many of them, though.

It came to a point where their sword hilts were locked, and the crowd watched with bated breath as Vancel forced his weight against Lyn until her knees began to buckle. She gritted her teeth and held her own for as long as she could, and then did the unexpected, stepping swiftly underneath their locked swords as she moved her arms in a sharp circular motion.

In an instant, Vancel’s sword was flung from his grasp and flew a good few paces away. He’d had all of his weight bearing forward upon Lyn, so he stumbled forward, and Lyn darted around him, using a well-aimed kick to finish bringing him all the way down.

She stood over him, sword pointed at his throat, and the trumpets announced her second victory.

Ensnaring Enchantment (ariplotter and EthTenshi)

@EthTenshi
Name: Vale No'Cheir

Race: Fae

Age: Appears to be twenty-three, but is closer to four hundred.

Apperance:

@ariplotter
Name: Tethys Tigorien

Race: Human

Age: 19

Appearance:

Defining Chivalry (ariplotter and Red Helix)

Lyn repressed a scoff as she listened to the prince’s welcome. She wondered how many of her fellow young knights were observant enough to see how duplicitous royalty could be. She knew some of them from the Leincrad Knights’ Academy, but many others were from neighboring kingdoms or smaller fiefdoms. None of them could have been over the age of 25, and she knew there would be some skilled fighters among them, but Lyn’s sword had seen more action than many of these young men ever had.

From his high platform, Prince Aidan was looking down at them in both the literal and figurative sense of the phrase. Lyn squared her shoulders. Prince Aidan probably didn’t know the name of a single young knight who had trained in the Academy next to the palace and also in the palace’s own courtyards for years while he grew up with his feathered pillows, plush carpeted halls, and servants attending to his every whim. She doubted he even knew that there were girls training to be knights at the Academy. It didn’t matter that he would someday be king and that he wasn’t the sort of person she wanted to associate herself with. None of that mattered, because Lyn was here to win the tourney and collect the winnings; then she would finally be off on her own, never to see Leincrad again.

Even though Lyn had been promoted from squirehood to knighthood several years ago, the maesters of the Leincrad Knights’ Academy had insisted she win a royal tourney before being allowed to travel under her own shield. It was a ridiculous requirement that they had created and imposed only upon her, even though she had been the best squire of her year. She knew they’d added the rule for her and her alone because she was a girl, and it was completely unfair that the rest of her peers had been allowed to leave immediately, while she’d had to wait for every new tournament to be held.

She’d competed in three Leincrad tournaments. Lyn lost her first one during the jousting round to a rookie mistake, and during the two after that, which were battle royale style, she’d been ganged up on by opponents who knew she was a girl and thought she didn’t belong on the battlefield.

This time, though, it was a classic, single combat advancement-style tourney. Lyn knew that she could rise to the top, and her maesters would all be in the stands to see her defeat the opposition.

After Prince Aidan announced the commencement of the tourney, Lyn and the other knights returned to their personal tents. Her first match would be against Sir Tyrragon of Clarendell.

She smiled to herself, realizing that many of these opponents and spectators didn’t know she was a girl, and probably couldn’t tell right away because she’d cropped her hair so that it barely came below her ears, for ease of combat. Perhaps they would actually fight normally, instead of being scared to hurt her or using unscrupulous tactics to beat her because they were personally offended by the fact that she was female.

Lyn prepared her blunted tourney sword herself, not having cared to bring along a page for such duties. When she was on her own out there in the wild world, she wouldn’t have someone to strap on her armor or carry her shield. She’d taken care of herself through all these past years, and she could do so no matter where she went.

The trumpets sounded outside as another match ended, and Lyn put on her helmet, adjusting the visor to her liking before she stepped outside.
“Sir Lyn of the Western Isles in combat against Sir Tyrragon of Clarendell!” the crier announced with a blast of trumpets on either side of him. Lyn and Tyrragon entered the arena, clasped forearms, and spread apart, swords drawn and ready.

“Commence combat!”

Lyn began by stepping slowly to the right, shifting her blade and analyzing her opponent’s response. He mirrored her, stepping to his left to stay directly across. Lyn smiled, knowing what she had to do.

She kept her eyes on his eyes, rather than his sword, and right before he stepped forward at her, his gaze shifted slightly. In that moment, Lyn darted forward and dodged his blow, delivering a hit of her own to his sword-wielding arm’s shoulder. After that, she knew she had the match won. Lyn made quick work of him and was declared the winner. As they moved her name up on the lists, she acknowledged the crowd, lifting her visor but not her helmet. One victory felt good, but it was not the time to get cocky. She still had to defeat everyone else she was matched up against; all the way through to the end.

Defining Chivalry (ariplotter and Red Helix)

Emelyne of the Western Isles