《The Knight's Goddess and The Goddess' Knight》07
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The winter night is dry and featherly light, and especially so tonight. Perhaps it was the bonfire, but the night before was not as cold. With each breath now accompanied by a puff of mist, the knight steps through the gate and looks up to the sky, attempting to recall the directions. Torch in hand, he starts down a road leading to a fountain, then probably a left at that would be the right way.
“It stings a fair bit that you did not care to inform me.” The goddess walks up to his side, flashing a smirk. She has changed out of the gold dress, now wearing simple rags underneath her cloak. “No, I’m not tired. I would appreciate it if you tell me next time; it is inconvenient to be unnecessarily separated. Oh, the nostalgia of such texture!” she performs a twirl, “This fabric! It hasn’t really changed at all.” Her breaths are forming clouds as well.
Iacy resumes pacing. “I assume you are heading for the well. Yes, I did think to investigate it when there are less people. It’s this way.” She takes a right turn at the fountain. “There is something I want to confirm again. Hm? Oh, ‘Aiva’?” she giggles, “It’s a name you…”
“Can I-…I was thinking if it might be insensitive, because perhaps you see yourself as a different person compared to the…the friend I knew. I apologise for only just noticing-Ah, truly? Is that so?” She blushes. Adjusting her hair flowing down her back, she puts up the baggy hood and pull the sides down over her face. “Aiva was the name you gave me when we needed to introduce ourselves to people. It just instantly came to mind when I was asking for that boy’s name.”
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The walk continues in silence with Iacy leading the way. The knight gazes at her back, relief flooding him due to the fact that she came with, because otherwise he would be hopelessly lost; there is hardly anyone on the streets. They passed by a pair of elderly Varyaeyi, probably husband and wife, both hunchbacked and slow in their steps; they were talking about the ingredients for a late supper. Besides them, there was no one else.
“We’re here.” She relaxes, now with something more solemn in her attention. The small clearing feels more isolated than the already-lonely citystreets. Pushing away the knight’s cautious arm that is keeping her from getting any closer, she shuts her eyes in concentration. “There is no danger here. Not to us.” Then she lowers her hood, her eyes opening, a glow in her pupils fading. “I was right, but I wanted to make sure. Knight Diastre, there appears to be a Bonfire Of Dreams here, one that I can link with my sister. And look, behind the well.”
The clouds that were hiding the moons part, bringing the sphere of ash into sight in shades of green and blue. “Sheathe your sword. The presence is no longer malignant. Do you wish to use the torch?” She eyes the flame. “Such luck that you brought fire, is it not? Go on, and fret not, I am right behind you. You need not be too protective; I can hold my own.”
Sighing but assured, the knight goes around the well and, after a slight hesitation, jabs the torch into the sphere.
The flame spreads, wrapping the night in fiery light, and maybe they are not at the well anymore. But there is a well, one shaped by fire and lit ash, and approaching that well is a figure carrying a wooden bucket, hair tied to the back and a long skirt flowing. A young woman, Mankind, the knight deduces, even though there is no way to identify if she is not Yosetian or Varyaeyi, not from the blurred and vague silhouette the flames are displaying. The knight simply knows. He looks behind him, spotting Iacy whose full attention is on the burning vision.
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As the woman ties her bucket to the hook, another figure appears behind her, creeping up ominously. A pole with a bladed end suddenly appears in his hand, too quick a materialisation for the knight to register, and then the unknown figure suddenly lunges at the unsuspecting woman just as quickly. The flames depict that the woman only had time to turn before the scythe plunged through her chest, lifting her off the ground for a short moment before the weapon slid out, her blood gushing out in embers. ‘Evil’, someone says from within the flames, a low murmur. In another quick swing, the figure then slits the woman’s throat, pushing her stumbling backwards. The knight keeps his eyes transfixed on the scene, not daring to even chance a confirmation with Iacy lest he misses anything. The woman, holding her neck with both hands in painful futile resort and losing control of her legs, flips over the well and falls. The flames roar and bellow before trickling out; the vision ends.
The knight picks up the torch that he unknowingly dropped. Though not a stranger to such grisly events, he finds his breath caught in his throat and his heartbeat rapid. Iacy, he realises, is keeping her gaze on the well.
“Weeping.” The goddess tells him. “A Bonfire Of Dreams is the remaining essence of the soul that did not depart from this reality, usually related to unaccepted despair. That and from the story I got from that old dwarf before we left the inn, I was expecting something resembling this.” She turns to him with a sullen look in her eyes. “Her body was never found. The guards were alerted by screaming witnesses, but they found nothing, just puddles of blood on the snow. It snowed the night before, and their water at home was frozen. She was getting water for her younger sister. Now, the little girl is all alone in a carehouse, is what I was told.” She grows silent. “I can hear weeping,” she reveals.
“I knew the both of you aren’t simple travellers.” A man steps into the moonlight, the shadow of a large axe on his back prompting the knight to move in front of Iacy, sword drawn and ready. “Inn? No, I did not tail you, but you did pique my interest when you came into the city. I was a few caravans behind.” He gestures to the well. “I heard about the incident and came to investigate, to Evaeba, which is clearly what you’re also doing. This…is no simple task, so you’re a godsend. I wish for us to work together.”
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The Blue Tower
When I heard a soft, and gentle voice, asking me if I'd like to go to a new world, far away from here... I didn't even think twice about it. My life on Earth could hardly have been any worse, right then - and the chance to start back over was more than I could have dreamed of. But now that I'm here, I'm starting to discover that this new world is really nothing like what I had been expecting. Right now, I'm all alone, in the middle of a huge, and darkened forest, with nobody to tell me where to go, or what to do next. And somewhere, far off in the distance... I can hear something huge, and strong, moving slowly through the woods. Before, I was hoping to get the chance to start my life up all over again. But now, I'm just hoping to make it safely through the night. Maybe once I achieve that, then I can finally start to think about what's going on... ... and then, maybe, I can figure out just why it was that I was brought here, exactly - and just what sort of a world it is that I've arrived in.
8 186LML
A cataclysm occurred in the world, which rolled back its development for many centuries. The power in it returned to the church, because otherwise, as the "2nd coming", the event that destroyed the earth, cannot be called. A big war is brewing, humanity has already mastered all places suitable for life, and the rulers are trying to expand their possessions at the expense of others. Our hero, Marzio, lives in one of the free Italian towns. He is the bastard of a major feudal lord who made his name in the war. His mother, despite her righteous lifestyle, practices quackery. For which one day, on an unremarkable and ordinary day, she is sentenced to death. Seeing the burning of his own mother and losing faith in people, Marzio begins his journey. Thanks to the connections of his small family, he escapes from the city and, together with a trade caravan, moves to another city, where he plans to enter the academy and become stronger. Along the way, he contacts people who call themselves "diggers" - plunderers. So, he finds himself in the ruins of the old world, which was much more developed and finds more and more evidence of the terrible secret of the true cause of the fall of the world, which the church so zealously hides. But the second coming gave not only the suffering and wrath of God, but also monsters from mutated animals. In a fight with them, he falls into the eyes of the detachment of the sacred order, after which they, having estimated its potential, take it to themselves and, with their patronage, he enters the academy. At the academy, he meets new friends, and his origin is revealed there. Since he is the only male descendant, he can claim the title and possession of his father. Thanks to this, our hero receives a certain amount of attention from the opposite sex. After training, Marzio learns about the so-called knowers who are aware of the artifacts of the ancients and how things truly are. New prospects are opening up for him, but also new dangers. He becomes part of the squad that helped him. And using modern for us and futuristic for the Middle Ages, small arms are engaged in protecting the secrets of the church and persecuting a group calling themselves apostates, who want to reveal all the cards that will drive the world into a new branch of chaos and the fight against the regime. As cover, his order sided with minor rulers to fight the old-fashioned way and maintain the balance of power. More and more secrets are revealed to Marzio, and a serious intriguing game unfolds behind him, into which he is sucked in with more and more force. But the hero is the hero, in order to grow and cope with the twists and turns of fate, he stoically withstands all trials and even not knowing about the threats from the east and another continent continues to go forward to meet his fate, for the sake of freedom, revenge and struggle.
8 217Fallen Winter
He wasn't sure if waking up on that beach was supposed to happen, but considering the alternatives when it comes to your time after life, he sure as hell wasn't going to complain. He was going make the most of his new start, and do what he had always dreamed of doing. He would explore an untamed world, one full of lush forests and creatures only ever seen as products of imagination. it wasn't like he was starting as a child either - he was as fully grown and augmented as he ever was. With his rifle by his side and armour on his back, he was ready for a fight and he was going to make sure anyone who wished him harm would know so. ----- You can also find our stories on Reddit under u/not-so-british-brit
8 71Done For [Billy Hargrove]
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8 172The DreamWalker Series
Ellette's dreams are unnaturally real. For years she has found them to be the perfect escape, the solution to a life that has been, at times, a nightmare. When she comes across a man from a dream in her waking life, he turns out to be just that; a dream come true. With finding him, she is forced to realize that her dreams overlap into reality, sometimes in frightening ways. The Dreamwalker Series was written as a number of short stories. Several of the stories are quite old so the writing style and mood of the pieces may shift in between each title. Some stories are flash fiction, and so may seem rather brief and abrupt. This story will be uploaded in a non-linear format.
8 194The Daily Life of Akashi Takabi (Draft I)
A teenage boy- Myself- was isekaid into another world during his sleep one night. They were born, and than orphaned a mere few hours later, left all alone in largely hostile world. Join them as they start the long and arduous journey to eventually make their way back their original world while still trying to live happily and fix the world around them. This is just a draft. Completely unedited with a lot of unnecessary things. (Probably) Please give any and all opinions. It'll really help. I promise not to take anything personally. If you have suggestions, DM/PM me. I'll at least consider it. I'm quite aware I have a lot of typos and misplaced words in my work. It would be very much appreciated if you were to comment or DM me regarding any Misplaced words. As for Typos, if you're especially annoyed, please do the same. Otherwise, typos will wait for draft II.
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