Valchyrie

A dragon's breath means death (Fetzen & Valchyrie)

Fetzen Opening Post:

The weather was dreary as if the location had been some remote island in the middle of a harsh ocean. The sky's floodgates were wide open, unleashing huge amounts of vater in volleys set a few minutes to several hours apart from each other. Were things weeping due to the many victims a dragon's arrival could possibly claim ? Or had the gods in some strange act of compassion decided to preemptively drench the world in water to make it harder for the creature to set things on fire ? Whatever it was -- at least temperatures were above freezing. While it was cold noone had to be afraid of slipping on ice, even though it would have made the ground rock solid again.

A large horse with a dark fur pattern was struggling to pull a medium-sized cart along the worn road. Despite the slow speed its wheels were digging deeply enough into the mud to throw up chunks of it behind them, littering the rear end of the supplies loaded on it in the progress. Luckily Vyzel and his carriage driver, Gharak, had been thorough in their preparations: Everything was tightly packed in wooden crates and wool or leather in order to optimize both usage of space and protection. From top to bottom the stack of crates had been arranged in such a way that they'd not have to jump from an upper level to a lower level in order to retrieve a certain thing. The plan was to unpack crates as they became the top of the remaining stack in order to have a constant stream of those supplies whose demand could be planned ahead. Two more horses were accompanying them, none of them saddled but both seemed to be more suited for riding.

If these were reserved for Vyzel then it would be clear why there were two of them: The man who had been promoted to the rank of slayer dwarfed his companion by about two feet -- and Gharak couldn't really be called small given that he stood at about six feet himself. Vyzel wasn't a beanstalk either - a look at his relatively massive thighs and upper body could tell that he had some experience with a strict training regime. However he didn't look anywhere near being a brute: His halfway dark beard put up a contrast to his rather pale complexion which ran along his jawline in a neatly pruned manner. What little hair was sticking out beneath his hoodie appeared to be properly organized and cut short. His clothing ? Definitely of high quality. The leather did its job repelling the ubiquitous moisture and there was a layer of soft cloth below it to keep him warm. If one looked closer and was even more attentive one could also see that there was nothing loaded onto the cart that looked like any kind of huge weapon which would probably suit such a person. In fact there didn't seem to be any weapon present at all. Of course this wasn't true, but some things Vyzel usually relied upon were delicate and he certainly lacked interest in them being exposed to everyone's eyesight.

The carriage came to a halt in front of a not-so-well looking tavern. Vyzel craned his neck to get a brief look at its roof, trying to boost his confidence in there being no annoying leaks or even hidden instabilities. Not that he would have had much success with that attempt. His heavy traveling boots left almost Norn-like imprints behind and once more in his life a doorframe proved to be too small to pass through comfortably. Gharak remained outside and maneuvered the vehicle to a more appropriate location. His job was to stay with it and make sure that noone would put his hands on the cargo.

The Warped Nail had as much patina on the inside as it had on the outside. While all the wooden surfaces told that its owners did put effort in cleaning them the furniture itself was just plain old. Vyzel picked a table in one of the corners where no other guests were nearby. He didn't like the prospect of anyone being able to eavesdrop, yet the precariously groaning noise of his stool did gather quite some attention as the more than heavy man sat down.

A War Filled World (NecroKnight x Valchyrie)

@NecroKnight

Posted, sorry it took so long.

A War Filled World (NecroKnight x Valchyrie)

Marosa listened to Riverdane and what he thought of the situation. She found it hard to believe that either of the two scenarios he had suggested were possible. For one, if the orcs had used magic to hide the fact that they had destroyed a large part of her forest and gone through that way, that meant that not only did they have someone to control them. They also had someone who were very experienced in magic, and as far as she knew, orcs had never had anyone that were experienced in magic like that. The other suggestion were that they should have dug a big tunnel underground and come through that way, but if they had done that all the way into the forest, Marosa and her people would have felt the disturbances of the earth. It was truly difficult to figure this one out, which meant it was even more difficult to form a plan of defense.

She sighed a little and took a sip of her own tea as well, thinking it through before answering. “I’m not sure that either of the two scenarios are possible. The problem is that the orcs would have gained some powerful allies for either one of those scenarios, and we both know orcs aren’t really known for making allies of any kind. This would have to be someone who was willing to go to the orcs and, without getting killed on sight, somehow turned them into an obedient army, I simply can’t see how that is possible.” She shrugged a little and took another sip of her tea. “However, since you are here, I suggest that we prepare for both of those scenarios, just to be safe. We form teams to cover the ground and look for suspicious tunnels and we form teams that look for magical disturbances in the air. I will form some teams that can take to the tree tops and scout the skies to see if some kind of flying device, or if luck really isn’t on our side, a dragon might appear. This should at least buy us some time and give us some information as to what is going on.”

She had no idea if any of this would actually help, but considering their situation, it was probably the best they could do. They had managed to survive without even being prepared, which meant that if they could at least find some clues as to what was going on, preparing to the protect themselves against the next wave would be a lot easier and a lot more effective. Traps could be planted all around the forest and they could put up stealth scouts that could take out a large portion of the forces before they even reached the castle walls, but of course, to be able to do that, they would need facts, and they would only get that by risking their men and women to gather information.

Orcs and War[rivaan&Valcyrie]

With everything that was going on, the crowd in the royal hall had started to flee in horror. Whatever was happening, they didn’t want to be a part of it. Many of the people that were here now, and who were adults, had never heard of Adalia, because it had been literally ages since she had been in this world. Foul magic was the only reason why the king and the queen was still alive and it was magic that Adalia had refused to help them create when they had once approached her with their suggestion. That had been the reason why she had been thrown into the hands of the enemies to this nation, who had struck a deal with the king and queen to seal Adalia away in another world. But world travelling wasn’t as easy as just that. To fully make sure that Adalia couldn’t return, and that she would stay away for a long time, hopefully for eternity if they could decide, they made her turn into a child again, born anew from a woman in the other world. Only the king and queen knew this, perhaps a few other people were still alive and around to know her, but at the moment, they weren’t present in the royal halls.

Adalia was focused on the king and queen, but Chalsea’s cries made her turn around to look at her. A phoenix was being born within Chalsea, either that, or Chalsea was a phoenix, whatever the case, she held a lot of power within her. Adalia looked back to the king and queen, who had risen from their thrones in order to try and escape while Adalia had turned to look at Chalsea, though they didn’t get far. Before they could move anywhere, two black spikes pierced both of their shoulders, pinning them to their thrones and making them unable to move. They both screamed in pain, but there was no one left to hear them, besides all the dead guards, Adalia and Chalsea. “You stay there for a moment, I’ll attend to my coming bride.” She said. She hadn’t actually discussed anything with Chalsea, neither had they even dated or anything yet, but it was safe to say that emotions was running wild and crazy inside of Adalia, though that didn’t mean that she was lying.

She turned around and walked back over to Chalsea who had the phoenix lying on the ground behind her. Instead of stopping at Chalsea, she walked past her and over to the phoenix. “You are a majestic creature, born from fire and legend. You have no reason to hurt your host or be confused. Embrace the magic of this world, which is so very different from the world you knew only moments ago. Intertwine your body with your host and become one.” She put her hand onto the phoenix head, gently caressing it. It burned Adalia’s hand badly, but she didn’t say anything. Then she walked to the front of Chalsea and reached down to pull her up on her feet, her hand healing with incredible speed now. She looked at her, the aura of death and destruction still surrounding Adalia, but she gave Chalsea a smile “I’m going to reclaim our thrones, be prepared to become the ruler of this world, and the other, as soon as we destroy our enemies.” She smiled. She leaned in and, well, a kiss would have been romantic, this was more like an unromantic but very deep and hot kiss, but she leaned in and gave her that deep kiss on her mouth. When she pulled away, she turned around to walk back up to the king and queen. “You can’t do this to us! People will come after you!” Adalia smiled “Not when I show them the secrets I stashed away for you. Enjoy the afterlife.” She grinned and with that, a black spike pierced each of their hearts, instantly killing them. She used her magic to make the spikes disappear and throw the bodies away from the thrones. Then she walked up and sat on the King, well, ex-king’s throne and looked to Chalsea. “Here’s the deal, my love. If you can make your way to the throne next to me, you’ll be my bride.” She grinned to Chalsea.

A War Filled World (NecroKnight x Valchyrie)

@NecroKnight

I posted, hope it's okay :)

A War Filled World (NecroKnight x Valchyrie)

Marosa gave Riverdane a smile as he talked about where he wanted to sleep and that his men would be comfortable with the accommodations that were provided for them. She gave him a small nod at that as well “Very well, if that is how you feel, you are allowed to sleep where you wish.” She said. She listened to the rest that he had to say, and was happy to hear that he wasn’t all brute and muscles, but that there were a tactician underneath the rough outside. Though that didn’t mean he could keep it for a long time, but at least it meant he could keep a civilized tone while they were talking and not in any kind of battle. Furthermore, it meant that he was open for working together for an extended amount of time, at least until the thread of the orcs had been dealt with.

“I’ll share with you all the information I have of the area, and the latest orc attack. From there, you could sleep on it and see what you think of the situation. Please follow me.” She said to him. Then she led him through the city, which was beautiful. There were a lot of wall paintings and beautiful nature all around the city. People were buying things from each other, like there had been no attack at all. The reason for this was that the walls had never been breached once, and while the orcs had been close this time, the people of the Eternal Grounds, had no idea of how close they had actually come to death.

Marosa led him all the way to the royal palace and into the dining room of the palace. Here there were a couple of couches made out of leafs and branches, though they were rather comfortable, even though you would have thought couches like that were uncomfortable. There were a few long tables with high chairs, clearly for the more formal dinner party that could take place occasionally, and there were paintings on the walls here as well. “Tea please!” she called out, before she sat down in one of the couches. She motioned for him to sit in the other couch instead of next to him. “Maps!” she called out as well.

It didn’t take long before both the tea and maps of the area had been given to them, and Marosa started going over the area for him. “As you can see, there’s only one way to get up to our kingdom, and that’s the same way you came from. The orcs must have taken that route, unless they somehow travelled through the sky, and last time I checked, they had no means of flying. So unless they have some new gear, which I strongly doubt, they would have taken the same route as you, which means, only one direction that we need to defend.” She took a sip of her tea. “However, it seems that it’s not that easy anymore, as they do seem more clever than usual, which could mean that someone else is controlling the orcs. But having managed to control orcs is not a small feat, so we might be dealing with someone who is interested in a lot more than the Eternal Grounds. Thoughts?”

Orcs and War[rivaan&Valcyrie]

While they were eating the breakfast, it seemed that Chalsea had finally calmed down a bit, at least for the time being. Though that didn’t seem to last long, as she soon started to feel hot again and start thrashing around on the couch like she was on fire. Adalia put the food away from herself and quickly turned to look at Chalsea’s body more closely. It seemed like there were actual flames under her skin, and if that was the reality of what was happening, then normal magic wasn’t going to help her with getting better. Something was going on with Chalsea’s body and it wasn’t going to stop in any normal way. Adalia had seen many things through her eternal life and she knew when something wanted to be unleashed and whatever was inside Chalsea’s body, was looking to be released. She quickly took her up in her arms “We don’t have a choice now Chalsea, I’m going to go through with the experiment.” She said and then she hurried down into the basement.

When they got down there, four of her mages was doing work on the big crystal shard in the middle. It seemed to have grown in size over the last few days and more magic was fluctuating from it than there had been before. Things was getting weird, and Adalia wasn’t sure if it was a good or a bad thing. Adalia looked to the mage that was in charge on today’s team. “We are going to go through with a live experiment. Chalsea is having some problems with her inner systems, and if we don’t do something, her body might self-destruct from heat and flames, and we can’t let that happen.” She explained. One of the mages looked at her “But we have no idea what will happen if we pour all the magic into it, we have theories, but it could kill her.” Adalia sighed “And so could the flames inside her body, do what I say.” She said and put Chalsea down in front of the big crystal.

The mages then stood in four corners of the crystal that was hovering in the middle of the room and then started to pour their magic into the crystal. As soon as they did that, the crystal started to respond by shining brightly and sending out it’s own magic, into everyone that was in the room. Adalia felt it as well, and what was even more strange, was that she started to hear voices and memories started to flood her brain, memories that seemed to have been accumulated over many years, but from a life she didn’t quite remember. It was hurting, and she fell down onto her knees, taking her hands to her head. The mages looked to her “Should we stop?” Adalia shook her head “Continue, it’s the only thing we can try.” She said back. She hoped that the magic the crystal was pouring out would either release what was inside Chalsea, or calm it down. But before they had a chance to discover that, the crystal suddenly melted away it’s hard shell and transformed into what looked like a window, that had a room on the other side of it. The memories stopped flooding Adalia’s mind, but something had happened in the meantime, she remembered. She remembered everything. She looked down to Chalsea and grabbed her, then she looked to the mages “Rose will be in charge while we’re gone, I don’t know how long that will be, but this portal should be open for quite some time at least.” She then stepped through the portal with Chalsea, and as soon as she did that, she completely transformed in her looks and the clothing she was wearing.

They were in a big royal hall, which seemed much different from the royal halls that existed in the other world they had just come from. This world was also heavy with magic, a lot heavier than the other world they had been inside. This should help Chalsea release her inner demons, or whatever it was that was inside. However, there was another situation to take care of. In this royal hall, there were hundreds of people and guards, all looking confused at what had just happened, and rather scared, as their Royal Battle-Witch, the one who were thought dead, had just returned through a portal. Adalia felt all her powers return to her, the powers she were feared and respected for, and she was not a happy witch. She looked to the throne, where the King and Queen of this technological advanced and magical advanced world, was sitting, the same people who had thrown her into the hands of the enemy and sealed her away for hundreds of years. The deadly aura, that was filled with death and destruction, surrounded Adalia again now, and everyone could feel her intention to kill and conquer. The lights were being disrupted and destroyed all around the hall, and she let go of Chalsea now, while slowly making her way to the thrones. The king and queen were surprised, to say the least, and they could only command one thing “Guards! Kill the traitor!” the guards tried to do as they were commanded to do, but before they could move, they were pierced by black spikes, from Adalia’s magic, and the rest of the crowd in the hall, just stepped back and looked on in horror.

The Box Of Unlimited Imagination. (Looking for a few partners. Mainly FxM, but can be convinced of FxF)

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A War Filled World (NecroKnight x Valchyrie)

After the orcs had fled the battle area, it was nice that Marosa and the Eternal Grounds kingdom had the help of the Zarosian army to take care of their wounded soldiers and help gathering up the dead orc bodies, and the bodies of the fallen soldiers. It had been a tough fight indeed, but it seemed like it was over, at least for now. Though why the orcs had attached, and who they had at their command, was unsure. It was clearly a well-coordinated effort to take down the Eternal Grounds, which would have been a very valuable and defendable area for the orcs to conquer, which was more or less the same reasons why Marosa and her men had managed to stay alive until help arrived. There were many things ahead of them that they needed to figure out, but at the moment, they had to clean up the mess that the orcs had made, and prepare what damage that had been done to the walls of the Eternal Grounds.

Now that the orcs had disappeared from the field completely, Marosa came down from the top wall and started walking around on the battlefield, helping the injured the best she could. Even though she was a commander, and a Queen, she still did the dirty work after a battle, on equal terms with the rest of her soldiers, instead of going back to her own chambers to relax and let her men do all the work. It was something that helped keeping the morale high in the Eternal Grounds, and it was another reason why the walls had never fallen. With the commander and Queen on the battlefield, there was a certain respect and sometimes fear, from most enemies, as they wouldn’t expect the leader of a kingdom to show up and join the battle from the very start. But she did, and it raised the men and women morale by a lot.

Now she came back up to the leader of the Zarosian army, Riverdane. She gave him a small courtesy again and then stood back up normally. “Again, thank you for the help. It’s appreciated and literally life-saving.” She said to him with a small nod. “My men are already preparing your chamber at the castle, while a housing is being arranged for your men and golems. There will be four big buildings that your army can share with each other; each will have their own bedroom and bathroom. It should be more than enough to house all of your men and golems. You’ll have a room at the castle as said, but if you prefer to stay with your men, you are more than welcome to join them in their housing as well.” She said, wondering if he would keep talking tough-guy talk, like he had when he had shown up with his army, or if he would calm more down, now that the battle was over.

Orcs and War[rivaan&Valcyrie]

Adalia smiled a little at Chalsea, it was nice that she thought she didn’t want something to go wrong, for Adalia’s sake, if they did try to go with the experimenting, but at the same time, she had all her experiments under control. She always made sure to have a door out of the experiment, if something bad seemed like it was about to happen, so she wasn’t worried about anything bad happening to Chalsea. What she was worried about, was that the magic wouldn’t help at all, and that they would have a much more suffering Chalsea in a few days. She had no way of knowing which way Chalsea’s condition would go, but if it did get worse, they would have a really hard time beating down the temperature again, and it might not be enough with a bucket of ice the next time. She took a sip of her tea while she thought about these things, and put the cup slowly down on the table again in front of her. “You don’t have to worry about that. We always make sure that we can keep things under control. If anything goes wrong, we’ll cancel out the experiment right away with nullifying magic, and nothing will have changed. But I think it’s better that we try it, and see if we can get your temperature under control, before you completely melt yourself.” She said with a bit of worrying in her voice.

Then the maid came into the room with the breakfast they had been preparing. Eggs, bacon, pancakes and a few other delicious things, alongside with cold nice water in two buckets, and a couple of glasses. Then the maid left again, leaving the women to themselves again. Adalia looked at the food “Well, it seems that the breakfast is ready. I hope you’ll enjoy it Chalsea, hopefully it’ll help you feel better.” She gave her a small smile and then started eating herself. Whether or not food would help her, only time would tell, but for the moment, she thought it at least couldn’t hurt to get some energy in both her own body and Chalsea’s body.

At the same time under the mansion, the crystals that they had been experimenting on, was pulsating slightly. One of the mages that was in the experimenting group, was on observation duty, and took note of it. While it wasn’t anything too unusual, it was still unusual enough that it deserved to be recorded in their notes and given to Adalia later on. But the mage that was observing the crystal, felt like it was pulsating more than normally, but it wasn’t much, and he was unsure of whether it was his imagination, or if it was real. Whatever the case was, he didn’t want to disturb Adalia right now, he wanted to give her time to get better after everything that had happened, plus, he knew that she was also keeping an eye on Chalsea, who seemed to have fallen ill the day before, which meant Adalia had more than enough on her plate right now.

Meanwhile in the living room, Adalia was drinking her tea and eating her breakfast, hoping Chalsea would do that as well. “It is up to you of course, whether or not you want to try and see if the crystal shards can help you. I’m not going to force you to try, but I just don’t want anything bad happening to you, and if that’s the direction things are going, I’d rather have tried and failed, than not having tried at all.” She said with a small smile to Chalsea. “But no pressure, if you’d rather not, I’ll accept that and we’ll leave it at that.” She said, giving a slight nod after that.