Yuriko didn’t know what to think.
The attendant gasped when she dropped the crystal screen, though reined himself in when it proved tougher than it looked. Yuriko noticed his reaction out of the corner of her eye. She also noticed that the box’s runes had completely disappeared, the lig...
2021-02-22 13:00:04 +0000 UTC View PostFrom a small tube, Heron carefully squeezed out a dollop of paint onto his palette. He only needed a little bit of blue for his painting, though he could always scrape the remainder to use in other works.
He closed the tube and set it aside. Picking a brush, he dipped it into the paint and ...
2021-02-15 14:00:06 +0000 UTC View PostMarron was sweating profusely despite the cool air inside the Watchtower. The conference chamber was filled with men and women so far above him in rank that should they sneeze, he was expected to present them with a kerchief, a cup of warm tea, and a woollen sweater.
Vice-Commander Theo Ran...
2021-02-15 13:45:01 +0000 UTC View PostThe next morning, Yuriko was up bright and early. Last night’s meditation session wasn’t fruitful at all. Most of the Animus she channeled into her Facet went into the Golden Silhouette demonstrating the same Animus Circulation techniques as before.
She vaguely remembered her long dream...
2021-02-15 13:30:01 +0000 UTC View Post“Where are we going now?” Krystal asked idly. Occupied with her thoughts, Yuriko started and nearly dropped Fri’Avgi, though she tightened her grip on the cross-guard. Krystal gaped at her. “What’s with you?”
“Nothing, I’m just, uhm, a bit lost in thought.”
“Oh. So...
2021-02-15 13:16:00 +0000 UTC View Post“What happened here?” Yuriko asked incredulously while the two of them stood on the sidewalk and stared at the ruins of the Old Sweet Shoppe’s al fresco dining area. The little wooden fence and the round tables were gone and the doors were closed. The sign on the door indicated that they we...
2021-02-15 13:00:04 +0000 UTC View PostAfter one complete cycle of Strengthen Physique, the strands of Yuriko’s Animus moved out of control. At first, it didn’t feel too strange or alarming as it had done the same thing the first time she did the technique. It wasn’t until the strands shifted over to her physical body, when it m...
2021-02-08 15:15:01 +0000 UTC View PostIt took Yuriko most of the evening to convince the attendant in the Temple’s infirmary to let her go home. She didn’t feel weak or infirm and she certainly wasn’t wounded. Other than having a bit of her long, golden hair snipped off by a Hunter, Yuriko had survived the ordeal with the Wyldl...
2021-02-08 15:01:01 +0000 UTC View PostThe room was small, barely ventilated, and poorly lit. Lukas’ Animus and a small candle were the only things giving any sort of illumination. Sweat and the stuffy stench of the late afternoon clung to the space but the boy was long used to it.
Cradled in his hands was a small jade cylinde...
2021-02-08 13:31:00 +0000 UTC View PostColin Gael Foster drew a deep breath from his pipe. The aromatic smoke curled around his mouth, tickling his palate, and flooded into his lungs. He felt his Animus stir in his core, flooding into his Anima and seeping into his physical body.
The smoke he blew out formed into fractals briefl...
2021-02-08 13:15:01 +0000 UTC View PostThe winds howled while the skies shattered. Multihued streams of Chaos scoured the waypoint, eroding hills and stone to dust. But the resulting tumult stopped dead as soon as it encountered a sphere bordered by purple light.
Virgil Soren Davar projected a Field that held back the raw Chaos ...
2021-02-08 13:01:01 +0000 UTC View PostWith yesterday's set, Book 1 has officially come to a close!
We're doing the initial polishing for Book 2--yes, Book 2!--now and expect that the releases will continue as before. They're going to be a little more raw than Book 1 and some details may shift as the story progresses so we'll ma...
2021-02-02 01:00:01 +0000 UTC View PostAside from the fact that her brothers acted like headless chickens and Mikel blushing just as brightly red as she did, Yuriko was quite thankful that Krystal was in the room with her. Her childhood friend had pushed all the boys out of the room posthaste with Rami screeching at the top of his lun...
2021-02-01 14:00:08 +0000 UTC View PostYuriko dreamed though at times, she forgot that she was dreaming. Other times she knew she was dreaming and during those times, she wondered what in Chaos was she seeing and why she hadn’t woken up yet.
In her dreams, she looked through eyes that definitely weren’t hers, in a body compl...
2021-02-01 13:45:00 +0000 UTC View PostBraden did not expect to ever open his eyes so he was very much surprised, and grateful, when he did.
“You’re awake!” Orrin screeched from the bedside while Braden winced.
His head throbbed and the back of his throat was dry. He coughed a bit before he croaked, “Water.”
<... 2021-02-01 13:30:59 +0000 UTC View PostVirgil kept a wary eye out over the waypoint. Ever since the Chaos Lord came in with the parley cloak, no other Wyldling had appeared near them. They were still in the area, with Virgil catching a glimpse, but they flitted in and out of his maximum visual range which was troubling in itself. The ...
2021-02-01 13:15:59 +0000 UTC View PostA tall, black-haired man who looked to be in his thirties sat in front of a desk reading a pile of reports. He glanced briefly outside his window but, seeing nothing of particular interest, he returned his gaze to the crane that was just unfolding while he tapped his fingers on the oakwood desk.<...
2021-02-01 13:01:01 +0000 UTC View PostSeveral emotions warred in Yuriko’s head. Shame and disappointment that no matter what she did, she couldn’t even touch her enemy. Anger and frustration, Chaos be damned, she already had an artefact and it wasn’t enough. Hope, to see that her instructors were still on top of things, and des...
2021-01-25 14:00:03 +0000 UTC View PostThe moment the Hunter struck Braden, Orrin felt it. He staggered and fell to his knees, face pale and eyes bloodshot. He could feel his Animus draining out of him into a conduit to his brother’s Anima.
“Braden!” someone screamed.
He didn’t know who it was tho...
2021-01-25 13:45:01 +0000 UTC View PostTo say that Braden was surprised when they were suddenly confronted by a Chaos Lord was quite untrue. He had been expecting the worst ever since the entire ordeal happened and having another encounter with a hostile, murderous creature from beyond the boundary was just another mountain they had t...
2021-01-25 13:30:59 +0000 UTC View PostThe next morning found Yuriko already working on a set of exercises to get used to wielding Fri’Avgi. She contained herself within a circle drawn on the dirt a couple of paces wide performed each of the sword dances in quick succession.
The sound of the weapon cutting through the air diff...
2021-01-25 13:16:00 +0000 UTC View PostFri’Avgi.
That was the name of the weapon, the Anima Telum that Yuriko held. Knowledge flowed into her head, most of it incomprehensible, though she caught a few words every now and then. Enough to realize that the knowledge was couched in an older form of the Verdanian language. Old Impe...
2021-01-25 13:01:01 +0000 UTC View PostBraden rubbed his eyes and suppressed a yawn. He was on the branches of a tree, along with Zeyn and Millie, keeping a midnight watch. What that would do against the forces arrayed against them, he wasn’t sure. But it allowed the members of their small group some measure of ease during the long,...
2021-01-19 01:31:00 +0000 UTC View PostIt didn't take long for Orrin and Krystal to harvest the Hunter's Chaos shards. There were a couple of them, one in the chest where its heart was and the other was in its guts. A total of ten HiJin for the entire harvest.
Yuriko recovered her Plasma Caster from the tree and cleaned her rema...
2021-01-19 01:15:59 +0000 UTC View Post“Oof! What the! Yuri?” Krystal managed to crawl out of her bedroll despite Yuriko’s deadweight. “What happened?”
“Ugh. Animus depletion,” Yuriko managed to say. “Need to sleep, sorry. Take over watch.”
“What happened? Yuri--?” was about as much as Krysta...
2021-01-19 01:01:00 +0000 UTC View PostYuriko sighed while the boys and Krystal argued over the Avos’ quest. Krystal was completely sceptical about the entire matter while Orrin was all for it. Mikel didn’t really know what to think, and he said as much, but he followed Krystal’s lead. Heron said it was worth a shot and...
2021-01-18 01:30:59 +0000 UTC View PostThe giant boar sniffed, the air moving in a torrent that whipped at Yuriko's hair, and exhaled a breath that almost blew her off her feet.
"No," the creature rumbled, it's bass tone caused a vibration that struck at her Anima, shaking her core. It caused the leaves around them to s...
2021-01-18 01:15:01 +0000 UTC View PostYuriko and Orrin followed the trail of broken trees. The blue bloodstains on the fallen trunks were the only evidence of dead swarmlings but the broken lumber extended out for a few dozen paces beyond the crater.
The acrid stench of fresh blood was more prominent the further beyond they wen...
2021-01-18 01:00:02 +0000 UTC View Post“Are you crazy?” Krystal hissed at Yuriko who was busy looking at how far the shallow trench reached.
It was clear to her that this was nothing natural, considering that several trees along the furrow looked like they’ve been shorn of the branches that once covered the area. The line ...
2021-01-15 01:16:00 +0000 UTC View PostOrrin was whistling tunelessly when Yuriko and Krystal returned to their campsite. Mikel was stirring the pot, his undivided focus honed in on every bubble that rose out of the stew. Heron was in a seated meditation pose, very clearly occupied with Recovery.
“Enjoy your bath?” Mikel ask...
2021-01-15 01:01:01 +0000 UTC View Post