《Once in a Blood Moon》Chapter Three
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Serana smelled blood before she reached her door, and her eyes widened. She rushed in, only to freeze in place and curse when she found Elayn on her rug, bloodied and bruised and pale.
Without a second thought, she leant down to gather the werewolf woman in her arms, growing more concerned when she didn't fight the hold. She set her down gently over the covers and stood back, wringing her hands, wondering what she was to do now. She'd smelled Vingalmo on the werewolf as soon as she picked her up, and cursed again when she realized she had given the woman poor advice. Certain members of her father's court would certainly leap at any opportunity they could to spite him by harming his daughter's new pet. Of course it would be dangerous for Elayn to wander freely.
Stupid. She'd been stupid. This woman was her responsibility and where had she been? Burying herself in her books because it was easier than trying to address the many things going wrong in her life.
But that was neither here nor there, it was time for action and so she would act. After a few moments thought, she realized she would need help and rang the bell that would summon the humans her father kept as servants; chattel all the same to him. She waited until there was a soft knock at her door and opened it.
There stood a young woman, one of Serana's favorites even if it were dangerous to have them. Her name was Leta, and she had been born in the castle. Her eyes went from flat resignation to concerned curiosity as she looked around Serana at the woman on the bed.
“She's new,” Leta said quietly.
“My father's idea,” Serana said, letting a little of her irritation with him bleed into her voice. It was a relief to see sympathy on another's face, even if only fleeting and fearful. “One of my father's courtiers found her,” she went on. “Gather water and bandages.”
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While Leta went about her mission, Serana went back to the bed to examine the woman lying there. Her arms were bruised with hand-prints, her neck viciously torn. The blood still pulsing weakly from her wounds and Serana found herself digging her nails in her palms to resist its call. It wasn't as though she hated her nature, but it seemed wrong to thirst for someone who was so clearly incapacitated.
She was rescued from having to consider her disgust too closely by Leta's reappearance. The girl hauled a bucket of steaming water and a pile of white cloth that she set on the bed. “Do you need help, miss?” she asked, eyes cast down to the floor.
“Thank you, but I can handle it from here,” she said, and the girl made her exit.
Serana started by tearing away the tattered threads of Elayn’s collar so that she could bathe the skin there with a damp cloth. As she edged closer to the gashes there, the woman stirred and groaned in discomfort. Serana shushed her, brushing her shaggy hair back from her face, and continued on.
Once the most concerning wound was dealt with, Serana bound her neck in clean rags and set about cleaning the other, less severe injuries littering the werewolf's body. Whoever she had been, she was clearly a fighter; Serana found cuts and bruises that seemed days and weeks old.
She found herself… Almost distracted by the other woman's body, even though she knew she shouldn't. A hard life had left her with lean sculpted muscle under tawny, weather-worn skin that was still soft to touch. She wondered if Elayn traveled very much, how much of the world she'd seen. She wondered if she had stories to share.
A knock at her door broke her from her thoughts and she rose to answer it, wiping her hands on a cloth as she went. “Good evening, father,” she said softly, stepping back to allow him entry to her room.
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“My beautiful daughter.” He leaned down to kiss her forehead. “How fares your new toy?”
She gestured to the bed, keeping her eyes low. “Not well. She was taken, and left here for me to find.”
Lord Harkin studied the werewolf on the bed for a moment before he leaned forward and inhaled through his nose. “Ah, Vingalmo,” he sighed. “Always so careless. You should be more careful with your toys, daughter mine.”
“Yes father,” she intoned, burying her irritation at the understanding that there would be no punishment for her father's upstart courtier.
He turned back to her, she could see it in the way his fine shoes pointed toward her. “Your mother has been missing a long time,” he said suddenly. “You spend much time in her laboratory.”
“It passes the time,” she admitted, hiding her frown. Where was he going with this?
“She wrote many things in her books,” he said. “You haven't found anything to say where she might have gone?”
“No father,” she said.
“Very well. Good night, daughter mine.”
After he was gone, Serana noticed that the door latch he had held was bent, crooked. She wondered at that.
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Dungeons & Demons
*!* This story is currently being continued on a different page, following years of hiatus and extensive rewrites *!* Please follow the link to read the up-to-date version: https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/53863/cycles-of-ruin Basil von Doom is a powerful dungeon keeper with a simple mission: to bring ruin and destruction upon civilized worlds at the height of their decadence and stagnation. Much like his father before him, the new master of House Doom is a prodigy of war, yet the venerable minions of his household still hold strange loyalties toward his missing ancestor, silently comparing the legendary rage of his father to the more pragmatic approach of the son. Adding to Basil’s frustrations is the lack of accomplishment he feels for his work, with the dungeon keeper often taking on handicaps just to give his enemies a fighting chance. With all the power and wealth one could ever dream of already within his grasp, Basil now finds that the achievements of others kindle more joy in his heart than his own crushing victories. Thus Basil has taken up mentoring the next generation of dungeon keepers to try and diagnose the cause for his own lack of passion. With his apprentice, Elnora, managing most of the daily work around the dungeon, Basil can finally turn his attention towards his personal concerns, such as tackling the shadow of his legendary father that still looms large over him.
8 158Superheroes in the Modern Age of Gods and Heroes
In a world born in the far future of our own world, heroes of ancient legend were more than just myth, with heroes, demigods and those mortals beloved by the gods, rising to fight evil and villainy in all its forms, throughout history and into the present. New heroes walk in a more technologically advanced world, the ancient blood of the gods still running in their veins, but a new age is about to dawn upon this world of gods and heroes. A new age of conflict and grand epic sagas, as hundreds of thousands, millions even, of new heroes and villains, the strange offspring of the gods and mortals of another world, arrive to fight for their own interests and goals. The gods, forewarned by prophecy and hinted at by the wisest and strangest of the gods, Nexus, Guardian of Space and Lord of Secrets, acted to put plans in place to ensure the continued stability of their world, even as they prepared themselves for the inevitable changes to come. However, our story starts with a young woman and how she will find her place in the coming new age of strange heroes from another world who call themselves - Superheroes. - Author's Note: The picture for the novel's cover isn't mine, I do not own it in anyway, if the artist wants me to take it down, please let me know.
8 173I Will Slay Everything
An apocalypse occured to the whole world, as the world was thrown into disarray. Monsters with dungeon along with gates suddenly showing up become a norm, as humans capable of defeating them called "ability users" started popping out around the globe. Wei Xiaodan lost his whole family when the apocalypse struck them and only him managed to survive. He wanted to take revenge, but unfortunately reality's could be cruel. He wasn't blessed to become an ability user. In a brink of death, Wei Xiaodan suddenly got sucked into a dark gate, meeting an old demon who's highly interested in him. The old demon taught him ancient cultivation arts and everything it knew, until the day for him to rise came afloat. With vengeance towards the gods who've brought calamity to his family and also brought them to their end, Wei Xiaodan climbed up into the gods stadium with a lone purpose. That is to purge them all down. (You can read the advance chapters on my patreon: https://www.patreon.com/emeruferu) Also, if you want to join my discord server, here's the link: https://discord.gg/3d2u6abF4w Notes: Cover's not mine, nor did I paid an artist to make it.
8 110Spot of Mummery: Tales of the Bard Technologist
-Webfiction/RolePlay set in the FFXIV MMORPG world of Hydaelyn- In ancient times, Amon was an infamous, immortal Technologist - one of the legends of the late Allagan Empire. However, when calamity strikes his civilization, he's forced to place himself and the remaining Allagans into a time-locked sleep in order to survive. Fast forward many ages later when Amon and his people awaken once more. The world has drastically changed, and his kind is now deemed a threat. The heroic Alliance responded by sending a raid to eradicate the last Allagans, where Amon was ultimately defeated ...or so the world thought. Through his ingenuity and aetheric technology, Amon manged to cheat death. Only, things didn't quite work out the way he planned. Stripped of his magic and technological resources, Amon now takes on the guise of a bard as he struggles to build a new life in a time long after the fall of his empire. But, should the people of this modern time discover who Amon once was, he fears they would put an end to the bard technologist's tale. I've been writing Spot of Mummery since 2018, so there's quite a backlog of story to post! This story was also written before the changes made to lore released in the Endwalker expansion (December 2021). I will address these changes eventually, but only in later chapters - ones written after the expansion came out. I hope that you enjoy and look forward to hearing your thoughts! Interested in seeing more about Amon? Main site: Spot of Mummery Twitter: https://twitter.com/SpotOfMummery
8 248THE SOUL DEVOURING MAGE
A young boy named nick prays to god to give him an amazing experience and to make him only second to god almighty himself and in return he would loyally serve whatever god would want him to do for eternity and god agrees and asks him what he wants to be this is nicks pathway to something dark and powerfulNOTE: To my readers any and all pictures I use are not mine and the rights go to the respected owners also I am a bastard so if you don't like my book you can go hump a rock till you bleed out and furthermore I hope you like overpowered mc and instant death cause my guy will steamroll people also they are things I talk about doing that may offend people like smoking and excessive cursing if you don't like please leave also if you are a feminist that's great my character don't care if you are a man or woman so don't get attached to any of my characters because he is a ruthless bastard and doesn't care who he kill except children also I know this description is complete trash and does not flow very well I don't really care but if you don't like you can leave peace out home slice
8 167Oh Arceus, I'm a Pokemon! Now What?
Pokeballs have rules, and everybody, human and pokemon alike, know them; Pokeballs come in many types and colours. Some are good for using at night, others in the water, others are for bigger pokemon. Some catch pokemon better than others, or catch certain types of pokemon better than others. In every case though, there are things that pokeballs do and do not do. They're cheap, they're everywhere. Pokeballs can be resisted. They're never 100% successful. And they don't work on humans. Right? Right? Lux the eevee is in a bit of a pickle. She came into contact with a strange pokeball, and... that's where things started to go wrong. Now she's not quite sure who she is, what she is or where she's going. Oh Arceus, I'm a pokemon! But... now what? Updates weekly (so far). A not-so serious fun jaunt through the pokemon world.
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